Centre tells Delhi high court ONGC has taken possession of Vedanta oil block
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has taken possession of an offshore oil and gas block a day after the Delhi high court denied
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has taken possession of an offshore oil and gas block a day after the Delhi high court denied a 10-year extension of Vedanta Ltd’s production-sharing contract, the Centre said on Thursday. Attorney general R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, informed the court of this development during an urgent mention before a division bench led by Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya. “There is no urgency in the matter. We have already taken possession. There is an affidavit on record," additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre along with Venkataramani, told the division bench. Also Read | West Asia war pushes ONGC to plan India's first strategic gas reserve Mining company Vedanta had moved the Delhi high court's division bench, seeking to halt the government's takeover of the CB-OS/2 offshore oil and gas block.
A day earlier, a single judge upheld the Centre's decision to deny the extension of Vedanta’s production-sharing contract (PSC). Vedanta, which filed its appeal overnight, sought interim relief to restrain the Centre from transferring the block and to protect its operations. Taking note of the submissions, the chief justice agreed to entertain the appeal and directed that the matter be listed for urgent hearing before another division bench later on Thursday. Vedanta was yet to respond to an email sent by Mint. On Wednesday, the single judge dismissed Vedanta's challenge to the Centre's September 2025 decision rejecting its request for a 10-year extension under the 2017 PSC Extension Policy. No automatic right According to the judgment reviewed by Mint, the court held that while Vedanta's petition was maintainable, the company had no automatic right to an extension.
It ruled that the Union government, acting as trustee of the country's natural resources under the Public Trust Doctrine, was entitled to consider not only a company's technical eligibility but also its conduct while deciding whether to grant an extension. Also Read | Delhi HC upholds Centre's move to take Gujarat offshore block from Vedanta The court observed that private companies cannot hold the government to ransom in matters concerning the exploitation of the country's natural resources. The court also upheld the government's reliance on Vedanta's unilateral deduction of about ₹88 crore from the government's share of profit petroleum towards its special additional excise duty (SAED) liability as a valid ground for rejecting the extension request. The dispute relates to the CB-OS/2 offshore oil and gas block off Gujarat's coast, which Vedanta has operated since 1998 under a PSC with the Centre and consortium partners including ONGC.
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