Reliance-BP start drilling at D6 post 16 months of approval

Reliance Industries (RIL) and its D6 partners BP and Niko Resources have started drilling work at one of the satellite fields in the block in an effort to enhance output from country's largest gas fields, suggest media reports. 
 
Though RIL and its partners have not officially made any announcement, it is the first well where drilling work has begun after 16 months of getting approvals to invest USD 7.2 billion. Once the development activity is completed at this satellite field, it is expected to add another 10 mmscmd to the block's production by mid 2016.

Last year, BP picked up 30% stake in 21 oil and gas blocks of RIL including the gas discovery areas of KG-D6 and NEW-25 in Mahanadi basins. But it was awaiting the ministry's approval to start work on the project.

The is part of the $1.529 billion plan to develop four satellite gas fields around the now producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 or D1&D3 fields in the Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 block.

This will be the first development well to be drilled since BP came into RIL's acreage. RIL-BP had lost the last four- month weather window available for drilling in Bay of Bengal as approvals did not come in time. They started spudding the well when the weather window opened this month.

Simultaneously, The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and RIL are at loggerheads over the former doing a field examination instead of auditing the production sharing contract (PSC) through the books of the company.

 RIL has in the past, said that CAG cannot conduct performance audit of private operators, it can do a performance audit of production sharing contract (PSC), covered under section 16 of the CAG's Act. Disagreeing with RIL, CAG in its earlier statement said that profit Petroleum is non-tax revenue credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and such audit would involve examination of all records including those of the operator which are relevant to their audit