Judgment :

SURINDER SINGH NIJJAR,J.

1. This petition has been filed under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration Act, 1996, with a prayer for appointment of the third and the presiding arbitrator, as the two arbitrators nominated by the parties have failed to reach a consensus on the appointment of the third arbitrator.

2. Petitioner No.1 is a company incorporated and registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956; Petitioner No.2 is a company incorporated in Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands; Petitioner No.3 is a company incorporated according to the laws of England & Wales. The Respondent herein is Union of India (hereinafter referred to as "UOI"), represented by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

3. Briefly stated, the relevant facts are as under:

4. In 1999, UOI announced a policy-New Exploration and Licensing Policy (hereinafter referred to as "NELP"). Under NELP, certain blocks of hydrocarbon reserves were offered for exploration, development and production to private contractors under the agreements which were in the nature of Production Sharing Contract. One of the said blocks was Block KG-DWN-98/3 ("Block KG-D6"). The joint bid made by the Pe