ADAG chairman Anil Ambani on Tuesday called on oil minister Murli Deora and is believed to have discussed allocation of natural gas to his group's upcoming power plants. “I have known (Anil) for many years. He just came to see me. I have nothing more to say,” Deora told reporters when asked about the nearly 30-minute meeting. Ambani also refused to speak to mediapersons about the meeting, where oil secretary S Sundareshan was also present. On Monday, official sources had indicated that the government may allocate natural gas to Anil Ambani Group's proposed power plants, like that in Dadri (Uttar Pradesh), only six months prior to their commissioning, as reservation of gas is not allowed under the present policy. Reliance Industries' (RIL) executive director PMS Prasad, who is in charge of the company's oil and gas business, was also present in the petroleum ministry around the same time and is learnt to have met Deora as well. Last month, Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Natural Resources’ (RNRL’s) plea for cheap gas from RIL was turned down by the Supreme Court on the ground that gas was a national asset and the government had the last word on its pricing and utilisation. The Ambani brothers have since agreed to renegotiate an agreement on gas supply, and Mukesh Ambani at the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries (RIL) last week said his firm was ready to supply gas to ADAG's power plants, as and when they are ready. The six weeks, given by the Supreme Court, to initiate renegotiations between RNRL and RIL ended on Monday. They now have another 8 weeks to conclude a gas supply pact which has to be approved by the government. Ambani is learnt to have asked Deora questions about availability of gas, quantity and date of supply. The ADAG chairman is also understood to have apprised Deora of the expansion plans of his power plants that can get gas before a new greenfield project does.
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