Reliance makes third gas discovery in KG block

Mumbai, Dec. 22: Reliance Industries (RIL), the country’s largest private sector company, has announced its third successive gas discovery in the exploration block KG-DWN-2003/1 (KGV-D3) of NELP-V.

The deepwater block KG-DWN-2003/1 is located in the Krishna Godavari basin, about 45 kilometres off the coast in the Bay of Bengal.

The block covers an area of 3,288 square kilometres.

RIL holds a 90 per cent participating interest (PI) and Hardy Exploration and Production India Inc holds the rest.

According to the statement released by RIL: “The well KGV-D3-R1, the third in this block was drilled at a water depth of 1,982 metre and to a total measured depth of 4113 metre. The objective was to explore the Miocene deepwater lobe and on-lapping wedges play fairway. Three reservoir zones were encountered at Miocene Level having gross thickness of 4, 23 and 16 metres. The potential of these were evaluated through a wire-line based technology called Reservoir Characterisation Imager (RCI).”

RIL is likely to drill three additional exploration wells on the block before the end of 2010.

In August 2005, Reliance and HEPI were awarded the D3 block under NELP-V.

Reliance is the operator of the block. Exploration drilling commenced on this block in 2008.

According to RIL: “The discovery supplements RIL’s understanding, of the petroleum systems within the block. 3D seismic has been acquired over the entire block area. Besides the above discoveries, several prospects have been mapped at different levels to fulfil the balance minimum work commitment of three wells.”

Reliance said the potential commerciality of the Dhirubhai-44 discovery was being ascertained through more data gathering and analysis.