CCEA defers award of CBM blocks as ADAG objects to changes in bid evaluation

Our Corporate Bureau
31 August 2006

Mumbai: The government has deferred a decision on awarding 10 coal bed methane (CBM) blocks and has sent back the report of the empowered committee of secretaries for further consideration after Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) tendered legal opinion pointing out to the change in the bid criterion after RNRL had submitted its bid.

The consortium led by the Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group (ADAG) is a clear winner in four blocks while British energy major BP Exploration is likely to get one. The Directorate of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has recommended award of two blocks to Coalgas Mart and three to Australia's Arrow Energy, official sources said.

Of the three blocks being recommended for Arrow, ADAG has staked claim on two claiming it lost the two by a very narrow margin as bid parameters were "altered after the bids closed."

Sources said the empowered committee of secretaries (ECS) had rejected Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL)-Reliance Energy Ltd-GeoPetrol's contention of discretionary marking in two points for technical assessment and one point for any other work programme. ADAG had contested the evaluation of two CBM blocks.

"We have been protesting against the last-minute changes in the criterion for evaluation, which, even as bidder, we were not informed of until the submission of bids. This put us at a disadvantage as changes were arbitrary and non-transparent," reports quoting ADAG sources said.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) said that the report on RNRL has to be seen again by a new empowered committee of secretaries.