Non-availability of rigs has halted drilling operations in as many as nine deepwater blocks of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), awarded to it under various rounds of the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP).

The nine blocks are located in major offshore basins including the Krishna Godavari, Mahanadi, Gujarat Saurashtra, Kerala-Konkan and Cauvery basins.

Fearing that this may affect its exploration commitments leading to relinquishment of blocks, RIL has approached the government for a three-year exploratory holiday in these nine blocks.

RIL has quoted a similar relaxation granted by the US Minerals Management Service to operators faced with similar rigs shortage problems in their blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a recent letter to the petroleum ministry, RIL has said that the shortage of deepwater rigs is expected to continue until 2009-10 and non-availability of rigs was severely affecting its drilling operations.

?The number of rigs, which are under commissioning and likely to enter the markets in the immediate future does not ease the already tight supply situation. The solution lies in granting of a moratorium of the sort requested by us (three-year exploration holiday for deepwater blocks),? said PMS Prasad, chief executive officer and president (petroleum business), RIL, in a recent letter to petroleum secretary MS

Srinivasan.

RIL is currently operating with two deepwater rigs – S Kirk Rhine and the Deepwater Frontier.

Three more deepwater rigs, namely the Expedition, D-534 and Neptune were contracted for mobilisation last year with an additional rig Blackford Dolphin slated to join in October.

However, despite contracting for the rigs, they are still not being made available as the rig operators are fulfilling their spillover commitments in previous deployment campaigns.

Referring to government?s recent policy initiative on merger of exploration phases in light of the prevailing rigs shortage, RIL has pointed out that the policy does not provide the required dispensation to the operators.

?Merging of exploration phase is only a short-term solution as it amasses the work commitment into the second and fourth phase and does not provide a respite to the contractor over the long term,? Reliance Industries Ltd said.