RIL-BP to invest Rs 40,000 cr more to raise KG-D6 gas output to 35 mscmd

The gas project wlould reduce India's import dependence by 10%, says BP CEO Dudley

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and BP Plc Chief Executive Bob Dudley on Thursday announced at a press conference that their companies would invest Rs 40,000 crore more in partnership to increase KG-D6 gas output to 30-35 mscmd. The partners would progress on R-Series gas field development in the KG-D6 block, Dudley said, adding the gas project would reduce India's import dependence by 10 per cent.

RIL and BP are partners in oil and gas exploration but have no such collaboration in downstream fuel retailing business.

"RIL-BP will invest after many years Rs 40,000 crore to bring up KG-D6 output to 30-35 mscmd of gas by 2020-2022," Ambani said.

"$6 billion will be invested to bring deep water gas," said BP's Bob Dudley in New Delhi after meeting Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan earlier in the day with Ambani.

"BP-RIL agreed on strategic cooperation and collaborate on unconventional fuel," said Ambani.

Ambani said the "new and historic cooperation" will explore trading of fuel and carbon emission trading." 

As for the pending arbitration cases against the company, Ambani said the RIL would follow legal course to bring those cases to conclusion.

Earlier in the day, a day before India shifts to a market dynamic system of daily revision of petrol and diesel prices, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan invited BP plc, Europe's third-biggest oil company, and Reliance Industries to invest in fuel retailing. While RIL already has a fuel retailing licence and has some 1,400 petrol pumps on the ground, BP last year got approval to set up petrol pumps in India.