RIL gas output to touch 60 mmscmd again by April: DGH

Natural gas production from Reliance Industries Ltd.'s (RIL) D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin would again touch 60 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) by April, head of upstream regulator said. RIL has seen natural gas output from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields fall to 50-52 mmscmd during the recent times from over 60 mmscmd achieved in mid-2010 due to reservoir complexities. RIL currently produces 52-52 mmscmd natural gas from KG-D6 block, S.K. Srivastava, Director General at the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) told reporters in New Delhi.



The Dhirubhai-1 and Dhirubhai-3 fields (also known as D1 and D3) have seen natural gas output fall from 53-54 mmscmd in mid-2010 to 42-44 mmscmd in the week ending December 26. Besides D1 and D3, D-26 or MA oilfield in the same block, is producing about 8 mmscmd as associated gas. Together, the output from KG-D6 currently stands at 50-52 mmscmd.

"Oil and gas fields go through ups and down," Srivastava said. "In the life of a field such things happen," he added. RIL is currently producing gas from 18 wells in the KG-D6 block. They will start producing from a total of 22 wells in April, Srivastava said. RIL is expected to pump natural gas at full capacity from its deep-sea field during the year ending March 2013, after a delay of almost two years. RIL owns 90% in the KG-D6 block, while Canada's Niko Resources holds the remainder.