RIL may resume oil output from KG-D6 by Jan-end

Reliance Industries (RIL) is likely to restart crude oil production from its Eastern Offshore KG-D6 block by the month-end, while natural gas will start flowing next month, oil regulator DGH said today.

Reliance, which had started crude oil production from the predominantly gas-rich KG-D6 block in September 2008, had on December 9 shut the oil field following equipment failure.

"In our assessment, crude oil productions should start in next 15-20 days. You can say it will start flowing by month end," DGH Director General V K Sibal told reporters on sidelines of the Petrotech Conference here. Reliance was producing 10,000 to 12,000 barrels per day when the production was stopped.

Sibal said natural gas from KG-D6 would start "any time between mid-February and end-February".

"We estimate Reliance will be able to raise the output to 30-40 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) within a short time," he said.

Reliance CEO and President of Oil and Gas PMS Prasad, on January 9, had written to the oil ministry stating that gas output from KG-DWN-98/3 or KG D-6 fields in Krishna Godavery basin of the east coast would start by next month-end "subject to weather and marine conditions".

In response, Prasad wrote to the ministry that RIL would be ready for gas production by end-February "subject to weather and marine conditions."

Initial output from KG-D6 would be in the range of 15 to 25 mmscmd, which would be ramped up to 40 mmscmd in four to five months and to 55 mmscmd before the end of the year.