India's Reliance Industries said on Tuesday the country's Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has raised a demand of $2.81 billion from the company, BP Exploration and Niko in a gas drilling dispute case.

Reliance Industries (RIL) shares fell for the third straight session on March 4, nearing their 52-week low. The decline follows a US $2.81 billion demand from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on PSC Contractors including RIL.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued a $2.81 billion demand to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its consortium partners, BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited and NIKO (NECO) Limited, over a long-standing dispute concerning gas migration from ONGC’s blocks to the KG-D6 block.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has raised a demand of $2.81 billion from Reliance Industries, BP Exploration and NIKO over a dispute regarding gas migration from ONGC’s blocks to the KG-D6 block.