Media reports suggest that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and Reliance Industries (RIL) are sparring over the scope of the audit for the KG-D6 natural gas fields.
On January 17, the CAG has reportedly wrote to the oil ministry saying that RIL was not co-operating with the auditors due to differences over the scope of the audit.
The CAG has complained that the audit process has come to a halt. The dispute arose after a meeting between RIL executives and CAG officials on January 9.
While the CAG wants to conduct a more comprehensive audit, RIL wants a pure financial audit that is prescribed in its contract. The government, however, is optimistic that the matter would be sorted out.
It may be noted that the approval from the Director General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) for the block’s work plans and budget since 2010-11 is conditional on the audit by CAG.
All issues would be resolved amicably through discussions without compromising national interest. The matter was earlier regarded as “resolved unambiguously” and, on December 14, the oil ministry decided to approve quickly RIL’s past and current investment plans.
In any case, this clearly is not contemplated in the scope of the audit and, in our view, is equivalent to a performance audit, which the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) has confirmed the CAG will not be conducting with respect to the contractor, RIL said in the letter to the oil ministry.
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