New Delhi : Reliance Industries has cut capital investment on the main oil and gas fields in the KG-D6 block by over $3 bn on back of an unexpected drop in reserves in an area that was once India’s most prolific.
The company has filed revised field development plans for the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) gas fields as well as D-26 MA oil and gas field – the only producing areas among a total of 19 oil and gas discoveries made in KG-D6 block.
Sources said the company has scaled down capex in D1&D3 fields to $5.928 bn from $8.836 bn two-phase spending it had proposed in 2006. RIL has already spent $5.693 bn on D1&D3 fields, that began producing gas in April 2009, and plans to invest a further $235 mnin raising gas compression capacity.
Sources said in the revised field development plan (FDP) for MA field, RIL has scaled down the investment by $276 mn to $1.96 bn. RIL had in 2006 proposed to invest $2.234 bn in developing the MA discovery which began producing oil in September 2008 and gas in April 2009.
A government-controlled panel, called the Management Committee, for approved the MA field’s revised plans, wherein the operator (RIL) will drill one gas well and convert two oil wells into gas wells to raise output over the next 2-3 years.
RIL has so far drilled six wells on the MA oilfield. But it had to shut two out of them due to high water and sand ingress, leading to drop in output from over 8 million cubic metres per day three years ago to just over 5 mmcmd currently.
In the 2006, it had proposed to drill a total of 31 wells capable of producing 80 mmcmd of gas by 2012. — PTI
