Ril In Kg Basin: Conception, Cost & Accolades

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has started drilling its first exploration well in the KG D9 block off the Godavari basin in the Bay of Bengal. The well will explore the hydrocarbon potential of the Early and Middle Miocene slope fan sands.
Spread over an area of 11, 850, the D9 block is located at a depth of 2,300-3,100 meters under the sea, and is estimated to have 11 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas.
Reliance Group has almost completed development activities at the famous KG D6 block in Krishna Godavari basin. KG D6 block is one of the major hydrocarbon discoveries in India, and is estimated to hold up to 50 Tcf of gas reserves. Earlier this year, RIL started producing from D-6.
In addition to D6 and D9, RIL is also conducting exploration at the adjoining D3 block where it has drilled 3 wells. D3 may hold 9.5 Tcf of gas.
Reliance Industries has informed the oil ministry that the development cost of its Krishna Godavari basin project is among the lowest in the world. Goldman Sachs study found that RIL's development cost of $5 a barrel was not only among the lowest in the world but also better than its competitors in India.
Recently, the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's campaign claimed that the government may lose up to Rs 30,000 crore due to increase in the capex of KG gas field.
Also, RIL's agreement with the government may lead to a hike in retail power tariff. RIL has called these allegations, malicious, baseless, mischievous and ill-informed.
The increase in reserves by over 2.5 times; increase in the number of wells; trebling of production facilities; and other factors resulted in the hike in capital expenditure from Rs. 12,000 crore to Rs. 45,000 crore, said PMS Prasad, RIL's president and CEO (petroleum).
The discovery of gas in the KG basin by Reliance Group was the largest discovery in the world in 2002. The commissioning of the mega scale offshore infrastructure in the East Coast, counted among the harshest operating environments in the world, in record time is expected to transform the energy landscape in the country. With a peak production of about 555,000 barrels of oil equivalent, it will be nearly 40% of India's current indigenous production.
In a first for India's energy sector, P.M.S. Prasad, Executive Director and CEO, Petroleum Business, Reliance Industries Ltd., has been named as the Energy Executive of the Year 2008 by the Petroleum Economist. The recognition is part of the Fourth Edition of the Petroleum Economist Awards, the prestigious awards in the Global Oil & Gas Industry. Through the awards, the London based magazine, Petroleum Economist, recognizes the people and organizations that have made significant contributions to the industry and its future.