Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), the largest private sector company in India, invested in oil and gas fields by winning the bid under New Exploration and Licensing Policy in the year 1999 and aspired to exploit the growing Indian energy market. Though RIL developed the KG-D6 gas blocks in record time, soon after, it was engulfed with some issues like lack of technical expertise, geological complexities and huge capital expenditures. To tackle these issues RIL was hunting for a partner with technical expertise. Meanwhile, British Petroleum (BP) was also grappling with some serious hurdles and eyeing for a new market. India was the best bet for BP as it has recognized the potential of the subcontinent and its earlier stint with RIL inspired BP to invest in India. This case study analyses whether the much-anticipated deal was successful or not. This case study discusses the entire background, issues and difficulties encountered by RIL and BP prior to the deal. Further, we investigate the impact of the deal on RIL by analyzing its operational efficiency, financial performance and stock gains in the pre and post period of the alliance.

This is an analytical case study based on the secondary databases, where it analyses the various pros and cons of the alliance between RIL and BP.