May 1, 2012. The oil ministry plans to take coal bed methane (CBM) pricing matters to a ministerial panel as it sees a wide gap between prices offered by customers to Reliance Industries and Essar, a move that can further delay approvals. The prices from two different producers can vary because CBM quantities are relatively small compared to natural gas produced from NELP blocks such as Reliance-operated D6. Essar, following an open bidding process in August last year, discovered that price for bulk of its Raniganj (East) CBM was $4.2 per mmBtu, while Reliance's followed a similar exercise in February for its two blocks in Madhya Pradesh and discovered CBM price in range of over $10 per mmBtu. According to CBM contracts between energy firms and the government, the oil ministry is expected to approve CBM pricing in 60 days of application, but it could not take any decision despite within the deadline. Even in the case of Essar, some potential customers offered a price as high as $14 per unit, but their requirement was negligible compared to Gail India's bid, which offered $4.2 per unit rate for almost entire output.