Reliance Industries Ltd.

Reliance Industries’ (RIL) is looking to sub-lease its only ultra-deepwater rig for another year, as the current logjam over its investments in KG-D6 Block may further delay drilling of new wells. Beginning March 2010, RIL had hired the ultra-deepwater drillship - Dhirubhai Deepwater KG-2 - for a 5-year period from the world’s largest deepwater rig owner Transocean.

RIL had then sub-leased the drillship to Malaysian national oil company Petronas until the end of 2011. Due to delayed government approvals, the company is going to miss the next drilling window. As the cost of hiring is too high, the company has decided to again sub-lease the Transocean drillship.

Recently, RIL’s gas output from its eastern offshore KG-D6 gas fields had dropped to a fresh all-time low of 39.80 million standard cubic meters per day. Reliance holds 60 percent interest in KG-D6, while UK's BP Plc holds 30 percent and Niko Resources of Canada holds the remaining 10 percent.