RIL starts coalbed methane production from MP

Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday announced it has started commercial production last month from its Sohagpur coalbed methane (CBM) block in Madhya Pradesh.

"The block is currently supplying CBM for commissioning the Shahdol Phulpur pipeline," the Mukesh Ambani-led RIL said in a release here.

"The production from RIL's Sohagpur CBM fields will gradually ramp-up in the next 15-18 months," making RIL among the largest non-conventional natural gas producers in India," it said.

"RIL was awarded the licence to explore two adjacent CBM blocks SP (West) and SP (East) with an area of 995 sq km in the Round 1 of CBM block bidding by the Government of India in 2001," it added.

The company said it has drilled more than 200 wells connected to two gas gathering stations in the first phase of development and expects to drill 600-800 more wells further and develop associated infrastructure over the next phases of development.

RIL, through its subsidiary Reliance Gas Pipelines Ltd, has laid a 312-km pipeline to transport CBM produced from Shahdol to Phulpur near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh where it connects with pipeline network of state-run GAIL.

"With this new pipeline network these CBM gas fields are now connected with the Indian gas grid," the statement said.

--IANS

bc/vgu/dg