Industry body withdraws case after IOCL cancels green-hydrogen tender
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) in the Delhi High Court on Thursday, after the state-owned company cancelled its first tender for a green hydrogen manufacturing plant in February. The court allowed the industry body to withdraw the petition as the cancellation rendered it irrelevant. In its writ petition, the body had accused IOCL of having a conflict of interest in the tender issued in November.
According to the petitioners, the government shouldn't have the authority to choose who it wants to enter into commercial relationships with, as this would create discrimination among equally qualified parties. They also said the Supreme Court has consistently cautioned against including clauses in tenders that benefit only one bidder. The petition also contested clause 19 of the tender notice, which granted the right of first refusal to IOCL’s joint venture GH4India Pvt Ltd.
It also challenged clauses 20 (xix) and (xvi), which allowed IOCL to reject the lowest bid and exempted its joint venture from submitting the earnest-money deposit. GH4India is a joint venture formed in August 2023 between Indian Oil Corp, Larsen & Toubro and renewable energy player ReNew. The development is significant as the IOCL tender marked a milestone in India's efforts to manufacture green hydrogen and determine its commercial viability.
Green hydrogen is crucial for decarbonising heavy-duty, long-distance commercial transportation, steel, refineries and other sectors. After the legal dispute began, IOCL cancelled the tender to build the proposed plant with a capacity of 10 kilo tonnes per annum (KTPA) at its Panipat refinery and petrochemicals complex. It did not provide a specific reason for the cancellation.
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