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, the Center said on Thursday, a day after the Delhi high court rejected a 10-year extension of Vedanta Ltd’s production sharing agreement.

Advocate General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, informed the court about this development during an emergency address before a division bench led by Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya.

Another chief public prosecutor, Chetan Sharma, who came to the center along with Venkataramani, told the division bench: “There is no emergency in this regard. We have already taken possession of it. There is a statement on record.”

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Mining company Vedanta had moved the division bench of the Delhi high court seeking to stop the government from taking over the CB-OS/2 offshore oil and gas block. A day ago, a single judge upheld the Centre’s decision to reject the extension of Vedanta’s production sharing contract (PSC).

Vedanta, which filed an appeal overnight, sought interim relief to prevent the Center from handing over the block and preserve its operations. Taking notice of the submissions, the chief justice agreed to hear the appeal and directed that the matter be listed for urgent hearing before another division bench later on Thursday.

Vedanta has not yet responded to the email sent. Mint.

The single judge on Wednesday rejected Vedanta’s appeal against the Centre’s September 2025 order and rejected its plea for a 10-year extension under the PSC Extension Policy, 2017.

No automatic rights

According to the decision under review MintThe court ruled that although Vedanta’s petition was admissible, the company was not automatically entitled to an extension. It held that the Union government, acting as steward of the country’s natural resources under the Public Trust Doctrine, has the right to consider not only the technical fitness of the company but also its conduct while deciding whether to grant an extension.

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The court stated that private companies cannot demand ransom from the government on issues related to the exploitation of the country’s natural resources.

The court also upheld the government’s reliance on Vedanta’s nearly unilateral cut. ₹88 crore towards special additional excise duty (SAED) liability from the government’s oil share of profits as a valid reason for rejecting the extension request.

The dispute relates to the CB-OS/2 offshore oil and gas block off the Gujarat coast, which Vedanta has been operating under a PSC with the Center and consortium partners including ONGC since 1998.

Request denied

The PSC expired in June 2023. Although Vedanta applied for a 10-year extension before the contract expired, the government rejected the request in September 2025, citing unpaid dues and non-compliance with policy. It directed the company to cease operations and hand over the block to ONGC.

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Vedanta objected to the decision, arguing that the extension application was filed on time, the government continued to grant temporary extensions while deciding on the application, and that the dues were controversial and were paid later under protest. The Center argued that the extension under the 2017 policy was voluntary and not a matter of rights.

In January, the Delhi high court had directed both parties to maintain status quo by blocking the transfer of the block to ONGC while the case was pending. This interim protection ended with Wednesday’s decision, following which the Center said ONGC had taken over the block.