19th gas discovery in KG-D6 gas field: Reliance Industries

<p>Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), one of India’s biggest oil and gas acreage operator, has made its 19th gas discovery in the prolific region of the Krishna – Godavari basin, located off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. The discovery has been named ‘Dhirubhai 42’ and is likely to boost RIL’s gas production by 2 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd). An official approval from Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) for developing the newly found acreage is also slated to come forth soon. DGH, the technical arm of oil ministry, is currently gauging the commercial viability of this discovery and will give its consent on commencing production from the field there after.</p> 
<p>This discovery comes as a huge relief to the government which is at the brink of facing concerns of energy security. The additional gas of 2 mmscmd will be able to somewhat mitigate the mounting demand that has come from many gas –hungry sectors of the country.</p>
<p>The 8,100 sq.km (KG-D6) block lies off the east coast of Andhra Pradesh in the Bay of Bengal region.    KG-D6 oil and gas block has been widely acclaimed for being cost-efficient and time driven. The Krishna – Godavari basin block KG-DWN-98/3 (D6) currently has 19 oil and gas finds, of which Dhirubhai -1 (D1), Dhirubhai- 3 (D3) fields and an MA oil field are the largest and completely functional. KG-D6 produces about 45.4 mmscmd of gas per day and MA oil fields produce around 15,000 barrels of oil per day and about 7.6 million standard cubic meters of natural gas per day from its five wells. There has been a slight decline in gas output from the basin in the last few months and concerns were mounting on whether the field could render any further benefits. This latest discovery has helped ease out the concerns for now and Reliance is hoping to begin production from the block at the earliest.</p>