The fate of the $9.6-billion Cairn-Vedanta deal may be decided soon as the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) under finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is meeting on Friday to take a decision on the issue of the Rs 18,000-crore royalty tab on the crude oil produced from Cairn India’s Rajasthan block.</P>
ONGC, which holds 30% in the Rajasthan project, is currently bearing the entire royalty burden and wants Cairn India to share the burden.
The EGoM will look into all aspects relating to royalty sharing by the stakeholders. The multi-billion dollar deal involves the sale of majority stake by Cairn Energy Plc in Indian unit Cairn India Ltd to Anil Agarwal-promoted and London-listed Vedanta Resources.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had on April 6 asked the EGoM to vet the deal, but the panel has not held a single meeting till then.