Reliance Industries has said it will give up about 56 per cent of “low prospectivity area” in its eastern offshore KG-D6 block to retain only the portion where oil and gas discoveries have been made.

In an investor presentation after announcing the January-March quarter financial results, RIL said a “proposal for relinquishment of low prospectivity area (has been) submitted” to the Government.

Only “3,412 sq. km. of area” out of a total of 7,645 sq km in KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block will be retained, it said.

The area RIL intends to retain contains 18 gas and one oil discovery, including the currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) gas and MA oil and gas fields.

RIL said it has submitted to authorities revised field development plans for D1&D3 as well as D26 or MA fields that include work-overs and facility upgrade to improve gas production.

“Next wave of projects to exploit the undeveloped discovered resources (will be) targeted over the next three-five years,” it said.

Of the remaining finds, the Government had last year approved a field development plan for four smaller discoveries and the company has submitted investment plans for another cluster known as the R-Series.

Investment plans for other satellite (D29, D30 and D31) gas fields will be submitted once upstream regulator DGH approves their commerciality.

RIL made the area relinquishment offer last month just as the Oil Ministry was readying an order asking the firm to vacate some 5,970 sq km of area of the KG-D6 block.

Contractually, companies are required to relinquish 25 per cent of the area in an oil and gas block at the end of the first phase of exploration that spans some three years.

At the end of the second phase, 50 per cent of the area is to be given up and by the third phase only such area is allowed to be retained where the company has made a discovery and is required for development and production of the same. The second and third phases are of two years duration each.

RIL and its partner Niko Resources of Canada were awarded the KG-D6 block in 2000. The three-year Phase-1 ended on June 7, 2003, while the two-year Phase-II expired on June 7, 2005. The third phase ended on June 7, 2007.

Sources said the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) in 2006 agreed to the RIL proposal of declaring the entire 7,645 sq km as discovery area, thereby allowing the company to retain the full area.

The decision was ratified by a committee headed by Additional Secretary in the Ministry and by the Oil Minister thereafter.

But the decision was questioned by the Government auditor CAG as at the end of the third phase, only 79 per cent of the block area was covered by 3D seismic survey and yet the entire area was declared a discovery area.

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