RIL tightens belt

Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), an Indian company, is on a cost-cutting spree amid the global recession and local slowdown, and its oil exploration arm is particularly feeling the crunch. Employee movement and maintenance costs are being kept on a leash in the exploration and production (E&P) arm, and rigs and installations at the Krishna-Godavari (KG) offshore basin and the Panna-Mukta-Tapti fields are on a basic maintenance routine, with other activities held back, said sources in the company. Fresh recruits have also been put on slow gear, the sources said. (December 5, 2008)