(ET)
Reliance Industries and British energy giant BP Plc will acquire their cash-strapped partner Niko Resources’ 10 per cent stake in gas discovery block NEC- 25 in the Bay of Bengal. In mid-2015, Niko had chosen to withdraw from the NEC-25 block and relinquish its interest to the remaining stakeholders. RIL is the operator of the block with 60 per cent interest while BP of the UK has the remaining 30 per cent stake. “The application for assignment of Niko’s PI (participating interest) to BP and RIL has been submitted and the same is awaiting Government of India approval,” RIL stated in its notes to 2016-17 earnings last week.
Niko’s 10 per cent interest will be split between RIL and BP in proportion to their equity stake. Gas discoveries in North-East Coast block NEC-0SN-97/1 (NEC-25) hold recoverable reserves of 1.032 trillion cubic feet.
