With the Krishna-Godavari D6 block output hitting an all-time low, Reliance Industries (RIL) and its British partner, BP Plc, have submitted to the government a revised field development plan for enhancing gas production from the MA field.
RIL-BP proposed to drill one gas production well on the MA oilfield in the eastern offshore KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block, besides intervention jobs in at least two of the existing six wells, sources privy to the development said. MA is the only oil find made by RIL in the 7,645-square kilometre KG-D6 block. The field produces about 11,200 barrels a day of along and associated gas of 6.45 million cubic meters per day. MA field makes up for about one-fifth of the 34.09 mmcmd of current gas output from KG-D6 block.
Sources said six wells had been drilled on MA field, of which one had to be closed because of water loading and sand ingress. RIL-BP plan to do workover (intervention activity involving invasive techniques to raise output) on the closed well and at least one more well facing similar problems.
This together with a seventh well, which would only produce gas unlike the current five wells that produce both oil and gas, would help the field raise output to 8 mmcmd. MA field had begun oil production in September 2008 and gas in April 2009 and in 2010 had averaged 8 mmcmd of gas output.
Sources said the revised FDP for MA field was submitted to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) in February and RIL-BP have made technical presentation. Also, RIL-BP are working on an integrated and capital efficient plan for block development, involving production from all the 18 gas discoveries in KG-D6. They projected first gas from R-Series, the third largest gas find in KG-D6 block, by 2015 and production from satellite fields by 2016 subject to timely regulatory approvals.
RIL began production from Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) fields, the largest among the 18 gas and one oil find, in April 2009 but output has fallen from a peak of 54 million cubic meters per day in March 2010 to 27.64 mmcmd this month.
Together with 6.45 mmcmd of gas production from D-26 or MA oil field in the same area, block output is 34.09 mmcmd. The plan would help in cost savings of over $1 billion due to integration and optimisation. In addition, un-incurred phase-II cost of D1&D3 field development plan ($3.1 billion out of total cost of $8.8 billion) would not be required to be spent, they said.
Sources said RIL-BP plan to connect R-Series and four satellite fields, for which a $1.529 billion field development plan was approved by the government in January, to the existing infrastructure used to produce gas from D1&D3 and MA. Also, other satellite fields would be hooked up to these.
R-series and four satellite fields alone have potential to add 30 mmscmd of output.
