KG basin dispute: Supreme Court appoints Ranjana Desai mediator

The KG basin dispute over migrating natural gas will go to mediation under former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, following an order issued by the court in New Delhi on Friday, October 30.

The case involves Reliance Industries, its consortium partners and the Union government. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, made the appointment after being told that the parties had not found a workable solution.

Attorney-General R. Venkataramani represented the Centre and assured cooperation with the mediator. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Reliance, agreed to the court's proposal to appoint Desai.

Experts requested for mediation

The bench described the matter as complex and pointed to Desai's commercial experience. It requested that she receive assistance from two specialists in the field, whose names could be proposed by the parties.

The parties were asked to approach her on Friday or the following day to arrange a meeting at a time convenient to her. The order follows earlier efforts to explore a negotiated resolution.

The KG basin dispute concerns allegations that gas moved between connected reservoirs belonging to ONGC and the Reliance block off Andhra Pradesh. The government alleged that the consortium extracted gas it was not entitled to exploit; Reliance has rejected that allegation.

Reliance, BP Exploration (Alpha) and Niko (NECO) are challenging a Delhi High Court ruling dated February 14, 2025. That ruling set aside an earlier decision supporting an arbitral award favouring the consortium.

An international tribunal had rejected the government's claim for USD 1.55 billion in July 2018. Reliance's lawyer has argued that pressure differences caused the gas movement as a physical process and has contested the legal and technical basis of the accusation. The mediation appointment does not resolve those competing positions.

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