Niko natural gas reserves fall 51%

Reserves at KG-D6, which it co-owns with RIL, have fallen to 193 bn cubic feet equivalent

Canadian oil and gas producer Niko Resources Ltd said total proved plus probable natural gas reserves have fallen almost 51% to 377 billion cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) as it struggles with low reserves at its KG D6 block in India.

Proved plus probable reserves at the KG D6 block, as of March 31, have decreased to 193 bcfe, the company said.

Niko, which co-owns the KG D6 block in India with BP Plc and Reliance Industries Inc, has been grappling with lower natural gas reserves at the block.

Niko has a 10% stake in the D6 block, which is estimated to hold more than 9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

Reliance last month cut its India gas reserves by 7% and the Indian government rejected its plan to recover $1.2 billion in costs at the gas field.

Niko Resources shares fell 48 Canadian cents, or 2%, to C$21.53 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. They are worth about a third of what they were a year ago.