Mint Explainer | How Reliance’s disputes with government over KG-D6 gas output may be resolved by mid-2026
The KG‑D6 oil and gas block in the Bay of Bengal has been at the centre of two disputes involving its operator Reliance Industries, India’s most valuable company, after failing to live up to its potential. Reuters reported earlier this week that the Indian government is seeking a multi-billion-dollar compensation from the Mukesh Ambani-led company.
Reliance has called the report factually incorrect.However, all eyes remain on the project as the outcomes for both disputes are expected in the first half of 2026, making it a crucial matter to track for investors.KG‑D6 is the common name for the KG‑DWN‑98/3 exploration block in the Krishna‑Godavari (KG) basin off India’s east coast near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. It was awarded to a consortium led by Reliance Industries in 2000 through a production-sharing contract under India’s New Exploration Licensing Policy.Reliance controls 66.67% of the project while the UK’s BP owns 33.33% after consortium partner Niko exited its 10% stake.
Several oil and gas fields were discovered within the block, including the now-shut D1, D3 and MA, and operational fields R‑Cluster, Satellite Cluster and MJ.The D1 and D3 gas fields were India’s first deepwater natural gas project and had been in production since April 2009. The project was marred by technical difficulties including the ingress of sand and water.Before commencement, the Reliance-BP joint venture had estimated the quantum of gas reserves from D1 and D3 was 10.3 trillion cubic feet (TCF), the ministry of petroleum and natural gas said in August 2012.
Read on livemint.com