Industry sources told ­Upstream that ONGC earlier this month ­had issued the letter of intent to L&T, and that some contractual formalities could be completed soon.

“The LoI was placed during the week starting 11 August,” a source confirmed.

Upstream was told that ONGC did not negotiate further with L&T, as the price quoted by the contractor was lower than the ­operator’s internal budget estimate.

“There