The output comprised 32.94 mmscmd from the D1 and D3 gas fields and 6.86 mmscmd from the MA oilfield.
In a surprise move, oil regulator DGH has asked Reliance Industries to include the marketing margin the company charges on sale of natural gas from its field to the approved gas price for calculating the government's share from the project.
The development plan under preparation is for earlier find in KG-8 well in June 2005. GPSC believes it will take two years from the date all approvals are in place, including the one for development plan, which details investments and volumes to be produced, for starting production from the block KG-OSN-2001/3 off the Andhra coast.
Monday's meeting of the empowered group of ministers on pricing of gas from Reliance Industries' D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin has proved inconclusive.
HPCL's Vizag refinery in Andhra Pradesh was to receive the consignment of 65,000-70,000 tonne on November 17, but the ship carrying the oil could not offload it due to bad weather. The MA-1 oilfield started production in September. The company sold the first consignment to HPCL at a $5.34 a barrel discount to Nigerian crude grade Bonny Light.
The fertiliser plant would use natural gas from the company's prolific gas field off in Krishna Godavari basin off the Andhra coast as feedstock.
The Union government today filed a fresh affidavit in the Bombay high court, which is hearing a dispute over supply of gas from Krishna Godavari basin, stating that any sale price less than $ 4.2 per mmBtu is not compatible with decisions taken by a ministerial panel.
With pricing of natural gas from the KG-D6 block stuck, Mukesh Ambani made the second trip to New Delhi this month to meet top officials.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will begin production from its Krishna Godavari gas discovery from 2012 and it has tied up with GAIL for transporting the fuel to the consumers.
Lawyer T S Doabia told the court the government's approval was necessary for the rate at which RIL sells the gas to other private parties. The division bench of Justices J N Patel and K K Tated pointed out that, according to RNRL, the government stated in Parliament it would not be fixing the gas price, except for its own share. When told this was not contrary to what Doabia was saying, the court asked him to file an affidavit, clarifying the government's position.
UBS Investment Research in its latest report estimated that ONGC and GSPC may get at least $5.5 per million British thermal unit for natural gas they will pump out from their respective Krishna-Godavari basin blocks. RIL is to get a fixed price of $4.2 per mmBtu for gas it would produce from Dhirubhai-1 and 3 fields in KG-D6 block from December-January, for the next five years.
The Bombay high court on Monday suggested that the warring Ambani brothers could approach an independent body to resolve their dispute relating to supply of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin. "The MoU is not able to resolve the issue and we would suggest both the parties to approach an independent body for the same," observed justice J N Patel.
The company has already received an approval to spend Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) for commercialising two of its biggest gas discoveries in the D6 block located in the KG basin. "In a letter to oil regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the company has submitted one more development plan for Rs 10,000 crore as additional capex (capital expenditure) for the block.
Reliance Industries Ltd has decided not to use its allocation of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin's D6 field for petrochemical production; it will, instead, swap it with gas available from other sources. It will use D6 gas only for power generation.
Fertiliser, power plants plan expansion in anticipation
Two weeks ago, RIL chief Mukesh Ambani instructed his senior executives to get ready for production by October, almost two-three months ahead of the earlier planned schedule, as the refinery at Jamnagar, the East-West pipeline and facilities at KG basin are nearing completion, said sources. RIL is developing the largest gas find in the world in KG basin, with estimated gas reserves of 11.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
Justice Roshan Dalvi sought to recuse herself from the case involving Reliance Industries Ltd and state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation over the supply of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin on Wednesday.
Reliance Industries on Friday said it will drill three more wells in the Krishna Godavari basin bloack where the first exploratory well was abandoned owing to poor gas find.
A division bench of Justices J N patel and K K Tated was hearing a case regarding the dispute between Anil-led Relaince Natural Resources Ltd and Mukesh's Reliance Industries Ltd over the gas supply master agreement (GSMA) whereby RIL will be supplying gas for RNRL's power plants.
Reliance Industries has already stepped up gas production from 28 mmscmd in June to about 36-37 mmscmd now. The production will soon reach 42 mmscmd once the supply to the Dabhol power plant is increased in the first week of October, said a company official.
The govt is mulling the need to exercise its rights under the gas production-sharing contracts.
RIL's KG basin started pumping gas in April and is currently producing 37-38 mscmd.
Some documents not yet provided, spokesperson tells DNA Money. Murli Deora's Petromin says report submitted! ADAG once again asks for tabling of report, shows 'proof' govt appointed auditors of RIL expense sheet have conflict of interest.
After the euphoria over the recent oil and gas discoveries made by upstream behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Reliance hold 90 per cent interest and is the operator of the deep-sea block KG-DWN-2001/1 (D9).
Reliance Industries is in talks with global energy majors, like British Gas of the UK, Chevron Corp of the US, Exxon and Shell for a possible stake sale in its Krishna-Godavari basin gas fields. RIL is looking for a strategic partner for its KG-D6 gas block to get deep sea exploration technology. The percentage of stake to be divested has not been firmed up & may depend on the value that the partner was bringing in. The block contains over 50trillion cubic feet of gas reserve
Reliance Industries has put the cost of producing natural gas from its prolific Krishna Godavari basin fields at $2.9 per million British thermal unit and the firm will earn a pre-tax return of 13 per cent.
In addition to undertaking to validate prospects identified by the joint venture, GCA employed a play-based exploration methodology on the D3 block to address both the current prospect inventory and the 'yet to find' resource potential. In D3, GCA estimated 9.5 Tcf of inplace reseves. D-3 and D-9 blocks in the same KG basin may hold 9.5 Tcf and 10.8 Tcf of gas reserves respectively, UK-based Hary Oil and Gas Plc said.
It would be complete by 2012 with a total investment of over Rs 11,300 crore, including an estimated Rs 2,300 crore from RIL and Rs 9,000 crore from GAIL. Analysts say refineries -- Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Essar, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation -- located in the vicinity of these pipelines would benefit as they would be able to substitute costly fuel oil with cheaper gas.
The company has been in talks with ConocoPhillips and Shell for some time. It now says the MoD's stringent norms on exploration in 'no-go' areas is posing a big challenge in taking the deal forward.
A day after Reliance Industries Ltd announced sale of 30 per cent interest in its 23 oil and gas blocks, Canada-based Niko Resources, RIL's partner in three fields - D6, NEC 25 and D4 - on Tuesday said it has the option to increase its stake in the fields by up to 30 per cent from current working percentages.
In a major relief to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd, the Bombay High Court Friday allowed the sale of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin at $4.20 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) and reserved final judgment on a case brought by Anil Ambani-run Reliance Natural Resources Ltd.
In the past months, we have awarded 44 blocks, which is the highest ever, says Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation plans to invest over US$ 5 billion to produce 25 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from its eastern offshore Krishna Godavari fields by 2013. The state-run firm on Wednesday submitted to the regulator Director General of Hydrocarbons an appraisal programme of the discoveries it had made in the KG offshore basin, putting the in-place reserves at 6.37 trillion cubic feet. ONGC also plans to produce 8,000 barrels of oil per day.
The crux of the ongoing court case between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) on Monday was pricing of the gas produced from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin.
The official explained that the contractor would take the worst-case scenario into account "to be on the safe side", when working out the field development plan and the probable cost of exploration and development of the block.
The government is likely to clear the price quoted by Reliance Industries Ltd for its gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin without seeking to control the price.