The Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has started pumping oil and natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin oil field off the Andhra Pradesh coast, which is really a landmark development. In a move that will strengthen India's security position tremendously, RIL said that it will start selling oil and gas from 2009 onwards.   

The RIL said that the initial production will only be about 5,000 barrels per day. But this will get increased to 550,000 barrels a day in the coming year or two, which is about 40 per cent of India's current production per day. India has to import 70 per cent of the oil it consumes and the RIL's production from the KG basin will help slash the country's import bill by almost Rs 86,000 Crore.

'Reliance began oil production from its predominantly gas-rich D6 block on September 17 with initial oil flowing at the rate of 5,500 barrels per day,' informed Mukesh Ambani, chairman, RIL. He then added that it will be for about 10 to 12 years that this finite resource will last. The first batch of oil is currently being sold to Hindustan Petroleum.