Reliance Industries has reported natural gas output at its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields dropping to 31.5 million cubic meters per day this month as high water and sand ingress led to shutting of 8 wells.
Gas output from KG-D6 in the week ended June 3 dropped to 31.57 mmcmd from 32.66 in May, according to a status report filed by the company with the Oil Ministry.
RIL said six out of the 18 wells on the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) gas fields and two of the six wells on MA oil field in the KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block in Bay of Bengal were shut due to high water and sand ingress, leading to lower output.
KG-D6 had produced 33.89 mmcmd in April and 34.62 mmscmd in March.
Production from D1&D3, the largest among 19 oil and gas finds RIL has made in the Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 block, slipped to 25.56 mmcmd during May 28 to June 3.
Together with 6.01 mmcmd output from MA oilfield in the same block, KG-D6 produced 31.57 mmmcd during the week ending June 3.
The KG-D6 output has fallen since hitting peak of 61.5 mmcmd in March 2010 as RIL shut wells after water and sand ingress.
During the week under review, a "total of 12 wells were on production and 6 wells (A2, A6, A10, B1, B2 & B13) were kept closed due to high water cut/sanding issues," the report said.
The output from KG-D6 is short of the 70.39 mmscmd-level (61.88 mmscmd from D1 and D3 and 8.5 mmscmd from the MA field) envisaged as per the field development plan approved in 2006.
While Reliance holds 60% interest in KG-D6, UK's BP Plc holds 30% and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10%.
The report said two out of the six wells on MA field had to be shut due to water loading.