D6 worries PMO
Oil ministry officials are wondering how on earth to comply with a suggestion from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to hold a cabinet meeting to allocate more D6 gas, as production from the Reliance-operated field continues to plummet.
“We would like to be advised about the definite agenda for the meeting before it is convened,” writes ministry director (gas pricing) Neeraj Mittal in a letter to the PMO on September 14. “D6 gas production is declining and isn’t even meeting the ‘firm’ allocations already made to ‘priority sectors’.
” Mittal was responding to an August 19 letter from the PMO, which reads: “Prime Minister desires that a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers may be held at an early date.” Current gas production from Reliance’s D6 block has fallen to around 45m cm/d against ‘firm’ allocations of 63.3m cm/d made so far.
Of these ‘firm’ allocations, 52m cm/d is earmarked for priority sector customers like fertiliser, LPG and power producers and city gas distribution networks.
