Petroleum ministry officials have spoken of the possibility of the main producing fields in Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 block in Bay of Bengal shutting down in future.
Asked by mediapersons at the annual Economic Editors’ Conference here whether India’s largest gas fields could be exhausted in the next five years, Petroleum Secretary G.C. Chaturvedi said “that is their fear”.
After reaching a high of 60 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) by 2009-end, the gas output from D-1 and D-3 fields is 21 mmscmd and MA oil field is 5 mmscmd for a total output of 26 mmscmd.
“Production will keep coming down…We are convinced that in a do-nothing scenario, production will keep coming down,” Chaturvedi said.
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) and partner BP Plc had informed the government that output at KG-D6 will continue to fall in absence of interventions needed to revive some of the seven wells that had been shut due to water and sand ingress.
Reliance consortium had also informed the ministry that they would not be able to produce as much gas as they had promised to because of geological complexity.
Speaking at the conference, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said: “We are not convinced (on geological complexity). The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons is also not convinced. This is being examined.”
Chaturvedi said though annual investments on the KG-D6 fields were agreed upon in an oil ministry-controlled block oversight committee in August, the resolutions reflecting them have not been signed due to certain issues.