RIL's $1.5 bn gas field development plan approved: Moily

The government has approved a $1.5 billion field development plan for the RIL-operated KG-D6 gas fields

The government has approved a $1.5 billion field development plan for the Reliance Industries (RIL)-operated KG-D6 gas fields, Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily said Friday.

The minister said the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH)-headed Management Committee (MC) had approved an investment of $1.53 billion proposed by RIL for development of four satellite gas discoveries in the KG-DWN-98/3 block in the eastern offshore.

Moily told mediapersons here that the operators have indicated substantial increase in production from the gas block from 2016-17. Its production has dwindled to 14 million standard cubic metres per day of gas, that is now fully consumed by fertiliser manufacturing units.

The MC had last year approved $1.06 billion for 2012-13 towards the KG-D6 budget, which had been pending for long.

India targets production of 105 mmscmd of natural gas from all sources in 2013-14, Moily said.

Meanwhile, DGH has projected RIL's KG-D6 gas production as being 19 mmscmd for 2013-14, 17.4 mmscmd for 2014-15, 15 mmscmd for 2015-16 and nearly 20 mmscmd for 2016-17.