By Saurabh Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI-- Reliance Industries Ltd., the operator of India's
biggest natural-gas find, and its partners BP PLC and Niko
Resources Ltd. said Saturday that they have sought arbitration with
the Indian government in an effort to force implementation of a
planned price increase for natural gas.
India's government sets gas prices in the domestic market.
India's cabinet last year approved a plan to increase the price of
natural gas to around $8 per million metric British Thermal units
from $4.20 now. The oil ministry in January said the new price
would come into effect from April 1 and would be revised
quarterly.
India's election watchdog in March, however, deferred the
implementation of the federal-government decision, saying it could
affect the outcome of national elections which began in May and end
on Monday. Results are set to be announced Friday.
"We have received the arbitration notice. We will take a call on
it next week," federal Oil Secretary Saurabh Chandra said
Saturday.
The companies have already sought a review of the decision by
the election regulator. Reliance has 60% stake in the block while
BP holds 30% interest. Canada's Niko Resources has a 10% stake.
The companies want prices raised retroactively from April 1.
The arbitration notice was served on Friday, the companies said
in the joint statement.
Write to Saurabh Chaturvedi at Saurabh.Chaturvedi@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires