Reliance May Begin Selling Gas From its CBM Blocks in India

Reliance Industries (RIL) has told the Indian government it would start selling gas from its coal bed methane (CBM) blocks at $13 a unit, according to Economic Times newspaper.

The company also said that it will not wait endlessly for official approval because the contract says the market-discovered price is deemed to be approved in 60 days, added the newspaper. 

According to Economic Times RIL has accused the oil ministry of trying to delay the approval of the price of CBM blocks in Madhya Pradesh although the company had invited bids in February 2012 and discovered the price of $12.93 per unit. 

In a formal letter RIL president Jayant Parimal told the oil ministry that it had made "several repetitive and piecemeal requests for information", which the company "duly and promptly" responded to, the newspaper reported. 

Reliance is unable to develop the CBM fields in Madhya Pradesh pending pricing and allocation approvals by the government since 2011. 

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