Crude oil production to go up 11pc, natural gas by 53pc: DGH

Reliance Industries and Cairn India will help increase nation's crude oil output by 11 per cent and natural gas production by 53 per cent in 2009-10, oil regulator Directorate General Hydrocarbons (DGH) said today.

Speaking at an Assocham conference, DGH Director General S K Srivastava said the country's gas production would double next year when RIL's KG-D6 fields' reach peak output.

KG-D6 field is expected to reach peak output of 80 million standard cubic meters per day by mid-2010.

Srivastava, according to an Assocham statement, said oil production from Cairn's Barmer basin field in Rajasthan is expected to contribute about 18 per cent of the country’s total oil production in near future.

India's crude oil production has been stagnant around 32 million tons for past few years and output from Barmer and KG-D6 fields would raise nation's oil production.

"...After stagnant production for over a decade, in 2009 -10 crude oil production is likely to increase by 11 per cent and natural gas by 53 per cent over previous year," he said.

Cairn's Rajasthan field is currently producing about 20,000 barrels per day while RIL is pumping out 10,000 bpd from KG-D6.

On the new discoveries, he said increased exploration would result in new discoveries by 2015-16 which would require investment to an extent of USD 25 billion.

He also said that besides conventional oil and gas, the government is actively pursuing other fossil fuel alternatives such as gas hydrates, coal bed methane (CBM) and oil shale. 

"The DGH is in the select League of Nations pursuing hard to commercialise gas production from gas Hydrates. Oil share resources are currently under evaluation," Srivastava added.

He, however, regretted that in 8th round of NELP, the Petroleum Ministry could award only 36 oil and gas blocks out of identified 70 blocks due to adversaries of global turmoil.

"Unfortunately, the Ministry will not be able to offer the unbid 34 blocks to prospective investors in the current fiscal as it requires several inter-governmental approvals which take a good deal of time," Srivastava said.

He remained non-committal by what time the unbid blocks will be awarded for oil & gas production.

Speaking on the occasion, D M Kale, Director General, ONGC Energy Centre said that his Corporation is spending Rs 10,000 crore annually to arrest 2 per cent decline in crude oil production. 

Source: PTI

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