RIL works overtime to bring out 1st KG output

Reliance Industries Ltd, nation's most valued firm, is working overtime on its eastern offshore Krishna Godavari basin oil and gas field, targeting first output in the third quarter of 2008.

"The KG-D6 gas project is on track. A total of 17 of 18 planned wells for the development of Dhirubhai-1 and 3 fields (in KG-D6 block) are now drilled and awaiting completion, which will happen shortly," a company official said.

Reliance in the first phase is developing Dhirubhai-1 and 3, the first two of the 15 discoveries in the 7,645-square-kilometre KG-D6 block. Initial output is likely to be 40 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd), which will rise to 60 mmscmd in 2009-10.

Gas production from the block will peak to 80 mmscmd in 2011-12 and remain at that level till 2016-17, after which it will fall to 60 mmscmd in 2017-18 and to 40 mmscmd in 2018-19.

"Construction of the onshore terminal, laying the grid of natural gas pipelines and installation of the offshore facilities are all progressing to enable production from the Dhirubhai Gas field to commence in 2008," the official said, adding that offshore facilities are 50 per cent complete and on-shore facilities are 55

per cent complete.

Reliance is also developing the oil discovery in the block on fast-track with oil production expected to commence in third quarter of 2008.

Drilling of the first two horizontal development wells in the MA field, MA3H and MA4H, were completed in October and November. Initial targeted production will be in the range of 30,000 to 35,000 barrels per day and planned plateau rate of 40,000 barrel per day.