The fall in output from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) operated D6 block has become a cause for concern, the Petroleum Minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, said
“This fall in the output of KG D6 has been reported to us…the fall is notable and is obviously not a positive development.”
“We do not know the reasons for the fall completely. This is a technical issue… DG Hydrocarbons is in contact with the operator of KG D6,” he said.
When asked what action the Government can take against Reliance for not meeting its commitment, the Minister said the question was “hypothetical”.
The Director General of Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Mr S.K. Srivastava, said, “We are in communication with RIL. We need to go to their technical data on well performance and field performance. And once we look at that, we will work out the solutions and see how production comes up.”
He said that, “18 wells are on production, two more wells were drilled but not connected, and two more wells need to be drilled according to the field development plan. We have asked the operator to submit its plan for drilling and connecting these wells.”
RIL is currently producing 52-53 mscmd from the block. The operator had to drill more wells to raise the output to 61-62 mscmd by April 1, 2011 and 80 mscmd by April 1, 2012.
In February, Reliance agreed to sell stake in 23 oil and gas blocks to BP in a $7.2-billion deal, in part to benefit from BP's deepwater exploration expertise.