A joint venture of Indian private sector player Reliance Industries and UK supermajor BP has hit a duster in a key deepwater exploration block offshore India’s eastern coast.

The Reliance-BP venture operates the prolific KG-D6 asset in the Krishna Godavari basin, home to multiple oil and gas producing fields.

In its bid to further expand its presence in the gas-rich basin, the partnership recently drilled a new gas exploration prospect in nearby Block KG UDW1, but the well has turned out to be a dry one, two people familiar with the drilling process confirmed to Upstream.