RIL gas output from KG-D6 block drops to 34 mmscmd

Reliance Industries has reported a further drop in natural gas production at its eastern offshore KG-D6 block to about 34 million standard cubic meters per day.

KG-D6 gas output in the week ended March 25 was 34.09 mmscmd as against 34.62 mmscmd in the begging of the month, according to a status report filed by the company with the Oil Ministry here.

Production from Dhirubhai-1 and 3, the largest among the 19 oil and gas finds made by RIL in the KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block, slipped to 27.64 mmscmd during Marh 19-25. The twin fields had produced 28.16 mmscmd in the week ending March 4.

Together with 6.45 mmscmd output from MA oilfield in the same block, KG-D6 produced 34.09 mmsmcd in week ending March 25.

The KG-D6 production is lower than 61.5 mmscmd rate achieved in March, 2010, as a drop in pressure in the wells and increased water ingress has led to a lower per-well gas output.

The report said that of the 18 wells drilled, completed and put on production in the D1 and D3 fields, six wells had to be shut or closed due to high water cut/sanding issues.

The output from KG-D6 is short of the 70.39 mmscmd-level (61.88 mmscmd from D1 and D3 and 8.5 mmscmd from the MA field) envisaged by now as per the field development plan approved in 2006.

While Reliance holds 60 per cent interest in KG-D6, UK's BP Plc holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent.

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh last month told Parliament that upstream oil regulator, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has reported that the reasons for lower gas production from D1 & D3 fields in the block KG-D6 block may be attributed to drilling of less number of wells.

RIL has drilled only 22 wells (18 producing wells and four wells not yet been put on production) as against the 31 producing wells approved for drilling up to March, 2012 in the field development plan (FDP).

Of the six wells on MA field, one had to be closed due to water loading. The field produce an average of 11,224 barrels per day of crude oil in the week under review.

"Increasing water production (was) observed in the field," the report said, adding, it also produced about 1,610 barrels per day of condensate.

Of the 34.09 mmscmd production from KG-D6, about 13.51 mmscmd was sold to fertilizer plants and 17.49 mmscmd to power plants. The remaining 3.09 mmscmd gas was consumed by other sectors such as LPG plants.

RIL produced output to further drop to 33.9 mmscmd in this month.