Cyclone Laila which has so far claimed 12 lives in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu has forced Reliance Industries to suspend all operations in the Krishna Godavari D6 block, a release from the company stated.
"In view of the threat from cyclone Laila, Reliance Industries has exercised caution and suspended all drilling operations in the East Coast. The rigs operating in contract areas were moved to safer zones. All production operations on the FPSO (floating production storage and off-loading) vessel operating in the KG D6 block was also suspended", the statement sent to the Bombay Stock Exchange stated.
"We remain vigilant and weather conditions are being monitored round the clock to determine when production can be restarted safely", the RIL spokesperson stated.
The met department has put both the coastal states on high alert as the cyclone is expected to intensify and hit coastal Andhra Pradesh in the afternoon.