Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The public spat and litigation between the Ambani brothers could adversely affect the sentiments of foreign companies interested in investing in India’s oil and gas exploration, the sectoral regulator said once again Thursday.
“Any fight between corporates has a negative impact. No fight has a positive impact,” Director General of Hydrocarbons V.K. Sibal told reporters here on the sidelines of a conference.

In August, Sibal had made a similar comment, triggering a strong reaction from the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), which accused the petroleum ministry of failing to attract foreign investment in exploration blocks because of its flip-flop, partisan and non-transparent policies.

“Not even one of the top five international oil companies participated in the rounds,” J.P. Chalasani, chief executive of group company Reliance Power, had said reacting to Sibal’s comments on the legal battle between the Ambani brothers.

“This is primarily due to absence of a well-defined, transparent and consistent policy regime,” Chalasani had added.

India is currently inviting bids for the latest round of auction of its hydrocarbon assets, where it is offering 70 blocks.

Reliance Natural Resources, another Anil Ambani group company, has been fighting a court case against Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries over supply of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin to the former’s power plants.

In his latest assertion Thursday, Sibal reiterated that the “negative publicity” could deter some foreign companies, which are already hesitant to make investments due to the global economic meltdown.

“I will be happy if we get an average of two bids per block,” said Sibal.

“The recession has adversely impacted smaller companies,” he added, noting that the response so far has been moderate during the international road shows held so far.

India has held several road shows overseas to attract bidders for its hydrocarbon assets.