BP CEO Robert Dudley meets Indian leaders

Oil and gas behemoth BP's CEO Robert W. Dudley is on a visit to India and has been meeting leading politicians. Accompanied by Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani - RIL and BP are joint venture partners in the KG D6 basin - Dudley met Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily at his residence in Delhi on Friday (October 18). Dudley also met Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his office. He is scheduled to meet the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at Gandhinagar on Saturday.

One of the key concerns of both Dudley and Ambani is a finance ministry proposal saying the KG D6 block should be excluded from the new gas pricing formula till RIL-BP start supplying the amount of gas they had committed themselves to. For the last two years, gas production at this block has been falling. In 2008 it was envisaged that the block would be able to supply rough 80 mmcmd of gas, but production has since dipped to barely 20 mmscmd. "Most of the issues relating to KG D6 are resolved. There is only one issue left that will be take up at the CCEA's next meeting, " said Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily.

Dudley was hopeful that the issue could be resolved soon. "I have met senior leaders in the government of India at New Delhi and discussed opportunities and challenges in the Indian energy sector at large and also specific to our deep water exploration and development projects," he said. "We are committed to working together with the government of India in its quest for energy security."