Gas output in eastern offshore KG-D6 fields falls further

Reliance Industries has reported a further fall in natural gas production from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to 25.1 million standard cubic meters a day as high water and sand ingress shut one-third of the wells.

Gas production from KG-D6 in the week ended November 4 dropped to 25.11 mmscmd from about 26 mmscmd last month, according to an output status report filed by the company with the Oil Ministry here.

KG-D6, where water and sand ingress coupled with drop in pressure led to a drastic fall in per-well output, had produced about 33 mmscmd at the beginning of the fiscal in April.

Production from Dhirubhai-1 and 3, the largest among the 19 oil and gas finds RIL has made in the KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block, slipped to 20.06 mmscmd.

Together with 5.05 mmscmd output from MA oilfield in the same block, KG-D6 produced 25.11 mmsmcd during the week ending November 4, the report said.

The output is short of the planned 80 mmscmd of gas production for this time of the year.

D1&D3 output has fallen since hitting a peak of 55 mmscmd in August 2010 as RIL shut wells after wells due to high water and sand ingress.

Of the 18 wells on D1&D3, only 12 wells are in production as six wells (A2, A6, A10, B1, B2 and B13) were shut due to high water cut and sanding issues.

On the MA oil and gas field, so far six wells -- five oil producers and one gas injection cum gas producer -- have been drilled, completed and put on production. Of these, four wells are on production and two oil wells, namely, MA-6H and MA-7H, had been shut down due to water loading.

The report said MA field produced an average of 7,682 barrels per day of oil in the week and 940 barrels a day of condensate.

Of the 25.11 mmscmd of production, 13.86 mmscmd was sold to fertiliser plants at the government approved rate of USD 4.20 per million British thermal unit.

Another 8.39 mmscmd was sold to power plants and the remaining 2.86 mmscmd was consumed by sectors such as LPG.

While RIL holds 60% interest in KG-D6, UK's BP Plc holds 30% and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10%