The CBI has sought Attorney General's opinion on registering a case in the alleged artificial
cost inflation by Reliance Industries for the development of eastern offshore KG-D6 fields.
The CBI, sources said, has completed its inquiry into the alleged conspiracy in allowing
RIL to raise cost of developing the KG-D6 field from $2.39 billion proposed in 2004 to $8.8 billion in 2006.
VK Sibal was the head of Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) which gave RIL approvals for raising the cost on the plea that gas reserves as well as cost of services have gone up.
Operators like RIL are allowed to recover all their cost before sharing profits with the government. Higher capital cost directly impacts the government's revenue.
The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry into the case in November 2009 on request of the Oil Ministry following several objections raised by CVC on the KG-D6 deal.
CBI sources said that probe has been completed in connection with the case and the matter has been referred to the Attorney General for legal opinion in the matter.
During its probe, the agency had taken the ministry's assistance to understand the arguments offered by Reliance when it raised the cost of developing Dhirubhai 1 and 3 gas fields in the KG-D6 block from $2.39 billion proposed in 2004 to $5.196 billion in Phase-1 and another $3.3 billion in Phase-II.