| This would be the first time that gas production took place from a deep water block in the country. |
| While the global average lead time from discovery to production is nine years for deep water gas findings, RIL claimed that the D6 block, where gas was discovered in 2002, "would be the fastest deep water development project in the world (within six years)." |
| The cost of finding and developing (F&D) in deep waters is typically three times that of on-land development. Further, deepwater rigs and services and installation costs have increased by 300 per cent in the last three years. |
| However, the F&D costs for KG D6, at a depth of 1,200 metre, were among the lowest in the world at $4.98 per barrel of oil equivalent (Boe) compared with similar projects such as Exxon Mobile's Kizomba C field (750 metre) at $5.75 per Boe, or RD Shell's Perdido field at 2,263 metres with at $9 per Boe, the company said. |
| RIL is spending an average $80,000 per day to operate three rigs for the exploration purposes. This expenditure was likely to become $1 million by next year, said Prasad. |
| About 10,000 professionals are working on the project round-the-clock from Kakinada onshore and another 13,000 in different parts of the world, co-ordinating with sub-contractors and suppliers. |
| The 1,400 km 48-inch pipeline from Kakinada to Bharuch in Gujarat would become ready by March 2008. The Kakinada-Vasadevpur 1,300-km pipeline to the Northeast and the pipeline in south India to Chennai and Bangalore would be ready in the next phase, said Prasad. |
| Harsh enviornment for operations and equipment in remote and inaccessible areas, acute shortage of manpower with the know-how and technology challenges, coupled with cost escalation across the supply chain were the major challenges for deep water gas production, added Prasad. |
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