Reliance Industries Ltd has committed to invest of $563 million in exploration of oil and gas in the nine blocks it won in consortium with Hardy Oil of UK in the third round of New Exploration Licensing Policy.
Of the 562.99 million dollar investment committed in three phases of exploration and production, the consortium of RIL and Hardy Oil will invest $468.27 million in seven deepwater blocks, informed sources said.
The consortium will invest $156.99 million in the first exploratory phase in the nine blocks, license agreements for which it signed earlier this week.
RIL, which had in consortium with Niko Resources of Canada discovered 7 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in a deepwater block of Krishna Godavari basin, has bagged another block - KG-DWN-2001/1 - in the same high prospective basin and has committed to invest 81.36 million dollars, they said.
RIL-Hardy Oil will invest $33.36 million in first phase of exploration in the KG deepwater block.
In the two Kerala-Konkan deepwater basin blocks the consortium has committed investment $63.06 million each in KK-DWN-2001/1 and KK-DWN-2001/2.
In Cauvery deepwater blocks of CY-DWN-2001/2 and CY-DWN-2001/3, it would invest $76.32 million and $54.05 million, respectively, while in Palar basin blocks CY-PR-DWN-2001/4 and PR-DWN-2001/1 an investment of $54.06 million and $76.36 million has been committed.
The consortium of RIL-Hardy Oil will invest $48.16 million in the shallow water block KG-OSN-2001/1 in the Krishna Godavari basin, sources said.
Another $46.56 million is committed in an adjacent block KG-OSN-2001/2 in the same basin.
RIL had won 12 oil and gas blocks, in consortium with Niko Resources of Canada, in the first NELP round and committed to invest $760.49 million.
In the second round of NELP, it teamed up with Hardy Oil to net only four out of 23 blocks awarded. RIL-Hardy Oil committed investment of $79.39 million in the NELP-II blocks, they said.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will invest about 382 million tonnes in 13 oil and gas blocks awarded to it under NELP-III.
While ONGC will investment $650 million in the 16 oil and gas blocks it won in NELP-II, it had committed an investment of $223 million in 8 blocks awarded to it under NELP-I.
