Explained: Why did RIL close production in three fields in the KG Basin?

The closure of three fields in the KG Basin by RIL casts nagging doubts about India's success under the 23-year-old New Exploration and Licensing Policy

Till recently, the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin off the Andhra coast was a bed of hope for India’s biggest oil companies. After Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was awarded a block in 2000, the private sector oil refiner aimed to overtake government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to become the country’s biggest natural gas producer. But earlier this month — 20 years later — RIL decided to cede natural gas production from the Dhirubhai 1 and D Dhirubhai 3 field in KG-DWN-98/3, popularly known as the KG-D6 block. This follows a shutdown of the MA field in the same block