Helped by production RIL-BP and ONGC gas fields, India's gas output to rise 25 pc

Led by production from fields jointly owned by Reliance Industries (RIL) and BP plc and from that of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), India's gas output will rise 25 per cent this year to 95-100 million metric standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd).

The RIL-BP joint venture started production from the new R cluster in the Krishna-Godavari basin fields last December which will be ramped up this year.

The R Cluster is expected to reach peak production of 13 million metric standard cubic metres (mmscmd) a day in 2021 and plateau thereafter. Two other fields, Satellite Cluster and MJ Field are expected to begin producing in 2021-22. RIL and partner BP plc have together invested $6 billion in the project.

“RIL’s announced start of gas production will support 48% rise in domestic gas supplies after years of flattish output. The new production should contribute ~3 per cent of earnings and cash flows by 2023," said Morgan Stanley in a note to clients last month.

ONGC, on the other hand, started test production of 2,40,000 cubic meter per day in February from the KG basin. It plans to drill more wells and start commercial production this year.The domestic energy major is spending more than $5 billion to produce as much as 35 billion cubic meters of gas by 2023-24 from new KG deep-water projects. The pandemic-induced lockdown had delayed the explorer's plans to ramp up production from the field.

In FY20, ONGC made a total of 12 discoveries (seven onshore, five offshore), seven of which are prospects (three onshore, four offshore) and five are pools (four onshore, one offshore). The company has notified seven new discoveries (four pools and three prospects) in FY21 so far.