
Delhi HC orders status quo on govt's move to take over Vedanta’s Gujarat offshore oil block
In relief to Vedanta Ltd, the Delhi High Court has ordered status quo on the Union government’s direction asking the company to stop operations and hand over the CB-OS/2 offshore oil and gas block in Gujarat to the Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC).A single judge bench of Justice Amit Sharma passed the interim order on Tuesday, and released today.The order effectively puts the government’s takeover plan on hold while Vedanta’s legal challenge is examined.
The court issued notice to the government and ONGC and listed the matter for further hearing on 27 February 2026.Emailed queries sent to Vedanta seeking a response remained unanswered till press time.The case concerns the offshore oil and gas block near Suvali in Gujarat, which Vedanta has operated since 1998 under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the Union government and consortium partners, including ONGC.The PSC permitted exploration and production for a 25-year term, which expired in June 2023.In 2017, the government introduced a policy allowing extensions of older, pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) oil and gas contracts, subject to conditions. Relying on this policy, Vedanta applied for a 10-year extension in June 2021, ahead of the PSC’s expiry.
After the contract ended, the government allowed operations to continue through multiple interim extensions between 2023 and 2024, pending a final decision.On 19 September 2025, the government rejected Vedanta’s extension request, citing alleged unpaid dues and non-compliance with policy conditions. The rejection directed Vedanta to immediately cease petroleum operations, vacate the site, and hand over custody and assets to ONGC on an “as-is-where-is” basis.The ministry of petroleum and natural gas issued
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