Reliance Industries has reported natural gas output from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields dipping below 39 million cubic meters a day as it shut five wells because of high water ingress.
Natural gas production from the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas fields and the MA oilfield in Block KG-DWN-98/3, or KG-D6, in the Krishna-Godavari Basin of the Bay of Bengal was 38.43 mmcmd in the week ended December 25, according to a status report filed by the company with the Oil Ministry here.
The output comprised 31.58 mmcmd from the D1 and D3 gas fields and 6.85 mmcmd from the MA oilfield.
The KG-D6 production is lower than 61.5 mmscmd rate achieved in March, 2010, as a drop in pressure in the wells and increased water ingress has led to a lower per-well gas output.
The report said of the 18 wells drilled, completed and put on production in the D1 and D3 fields, five wells— A2, A10, B1, B2 and B13— were kept closed due to high water cut/sanding issues.
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 by now as per the field development plan approved in 2006.
While RIL holds 60% interest in KG-D6, UK's BP Plc has 30% and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10%.
RIL started natural gas production from the KG-D6 fields in April 1, 2009, with output of about 30 mmcmd.
The MA oilfield, where one of the five oil wells had been shut due to water loading, produced about 12,623 barrels of crude oil per day in the week ending December 25. In addition, 1,672 barrels of condensate are produced from the field every day.
The report said 15.03 mmcmd of the gas output was sold to fertiliser plants and 20.18 mmcmd to power plants. The remaining 3.22 mmcmd was consumed by other sectors, including compressors and internal use of the East-West pipeline that transports gas from the East Coast to consumption centres in the West.
RIL projected an output of 38.50 mmcmd of gas in January.
As per the status report, out of the 22 wells planned in in Phase-I of D1 and D3 field development, 18 wells have been drilled and completed so far. Of these, 13 wells were put on production, while five wells were kept closed due to high water cut and sanding issues.
The field development plan envisages drilling of an additional 9 wells by March 2012.