FOREIGN firms considering oil and gas exploration in India may be less enthusiastic this year because of global financial problems and the public spat between the Ambani brothers, upstream regulator VK Sibal said.
India regularly offers exploration blocks under the New Exploration Licensing Policy as it seeks foreign capital and expertise to improve domestic oil output, which barely meets 30 per cent of the demand.
Asked if the gas supply dispute between Mukesh Ambani, who controls Reliance Industries and his brother Anil, would hit investor response to the current NELP round, Sibal said: “Any fight between corporates has a negative impact. No fight has a positive impact.”