Govt. seeks to restrain RIL’s plan to sell stake to Saudi Aramco

As reported by a leading newspaper today, it might deem necessary for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to disclose its assets before it can freeze plans to sell 20% stake in its refining and petrochemicals business to Saudi Aramco.

According to the report, the Delhi High Court has asked RIL and British Gas to disclose their assets after the Centre sought to restrain them from disposing of the same.

"In an application filed in September, the government had sought curbs citing the failure of the two companies to honour their payment under a $4.5 billion international arbitral award in the Panna-Mukta and Tapti production sharing contracts," the report said.

On August 12, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani had announced to sell 20% stake in its refining and petrochemicals business for $15 billion to Saudi Aramco. Saudi Aramco is at present the most profitable company in the world and controls the world’s second-largest proven crude reserves at more than 270 billion barrels.

The partnership between Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco will go a long way in insulating RIL from any future oil shocks and volatility in crude prices.

The deal, which values the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business at $75 billion, is part of a plan to make RIL a zero-debt company in the next 18 months, Ambani had said in a speech at the annual meeting.

According to the government, RIL and its partner are required to pay $4.5 billion with interest. In the Delhi High Court, the government said it was forced to file for the execution of the award as RIL and partner haven’t cleared their dues.

In an arbitration that has been going on since 2010, the government has alleged RIL and its partner of having appropriated huge sums of money in violation of the production sharing contract in the PMT oil and gas fields.