Reliance Industries Limited has said its finding and development cost of the gas field off the east coast is lowest in the world and it plans to put the deepsea field to production in the shortest ever span of six years.

The company will spend $5.2 billion in bringing to production Dhirubhai-1 and Dhirubhai-3 fields in the prolific block KG-D6 in Krishna Godavari basin by June 2008.

"The finds, world's second largest deepwater discoveries of the last decade, are being brought to production in less than six years of discovery at a cost of $2.8 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe)," a top company official said.

Across the world, energy majors like Shell and Norsk Hydro took 10 years to begin production from gas fields. British Gas started production from its Scarab/Saffron fields in Egypt field in 6.5 years but the output was only 15 million standard cubic metes per day and the field lay in water depths of 250-850 meters as against KG-D6 in 850-1100 meters.

Reliance aims to produce 80 mmscmd from Dhirubhai 1 & 3. "Our finding and development cost is the lowest in the world," he said.

Norsk Hydro's cost for Ormen Lange field in Norway is $4.3 per boe while Total of France has billed Angolan field cost at over $5 per boe.

US energy major Exxon and BP saw $5.5 per boe F&D cost each for their Greater Plutonio and Kizomba-B fields in Angola respectively.

RIL has seen its field development cost rise from $2.47 billion budgeted in 2004 to $5.2 billion as seismic acquisition costs have risen by more than 200 per cent and drilling and services charges have escalated by 100-200 per cent, he said.