UK’s BP plc has relinquished or surrendered nine out of the 21 oil and gas blocks where it has bought 30 per cent stake from Reliance Industries for $7.2 billion, due to poor hydrocarbon prospects.

BP had last year bought 30 per cent stake in 23 oil and gas blocks of RIL including the gas discovery areas of KG-D6 and NEC-25. The Cabinet had, however, approved of BP taking stake in 21 blocks.

Sources said that after initial assessment, RIL-BP joint venture have given up nine out of the 21 blocks.

The joint venture is currently focused on reviving the flagging eastern offshore KG-D6 fields and bringing the Mahanadi basin NEC-25 discoveries to production.

Declining to comment on the relinquishment, BP India head Sashi Mukundan said: “We want to focus on quickly increasing the production and finding more oil and gas.’’

He said output from the main Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) gas fields in KG-D6 block would increase in 2015 after the joint venture puts up additional gas compression facilities and revives some of the six closed wells.

D1&D3 fields have seen output fall from 53-54 million standard cubic meters per day achieved in March 2010 to 21-22 mmscmd currently as one-third of the wells ceased due to high water and sand ingress. Together with 5.5-6 mmscmd of output from MA field in the same area, the KG-D6 output now stands at 26.5-27 mmsmcd.

“We are still hopeful of increasing the production from D1&D3 by 2015,” he said, adding that satellite fields around the main producing areas would be put beginning 2016.

Besides D1&D3 and MA, KG-D6 has 16 more gas discoveries.’’

Mukundan said RIL-BP is working on sequencing the gas discoveries towards raising production.

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