RIL has reportedly shut oil and gas production from its MA fields in Krishna Godavari basin as tropical cyclone ‘Laila’ moved towards the east coast in the Bay of Bengal.Gas production from the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 fields was, however, not affected.The shutdown will be for a minimum 48 hours.
According to the rlease from RIL “In view of the threat from the cyclone Laila, Reliance Industries has exercised caution and suspended all drilling operations in the East Coast. The rigs operating in its contract areas were moved to safe zones. All production operations on the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading ) vessel operating in the KG D6 block was also suspended. We remain vigilant and weather conditions are being monitored round the clock to determine when production can be restarted safely. The same has been conveyed to all authorities including MoP&NG and DGH.”

Cyclone Laila is forecast to reach hurricane strength before making landfall in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. The MA field was producing around 32,000-33,000 bopd and 8 mmscmd. KG-D6’s current gas production of around 63 mmscmd included 8 mmscmd from MA fields.

According to reports, RIL has also suspended drilling operations at KG-D6 and a neighbouring KG-D3 block. Meanwhile, operations of refineries on the east coast and Cairn India’s offshore Ravva oil and gas fields in the KG basin were not affected.

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