GSPC finds oil, gas reserves in KG-basin

Jun 7, 2006, 20:46 GMT

Gandhinagar, June 7 (IANS) Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) has found a huge reserve of high quality oil and gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin in south India, official sources said here Wednesday.

The reserve found in the well KG17 has the gas flow of 4.8 million standard metric cubic feet per day and the oil flow of 862 barrels per day, according to Gujarat's Energy and Petrochemicals Minister Saurabh Patel.

'This find is near to the well K8 in the 'Deen Dayal' block in the basin and is in addition to the 20 trillion cubit feet (TCF) gas found in June 2005,' Patel told the media. He stressed on the good quality of oil with 17 percent C 2 and C3. The oil reserve found last year from KG 8 well had only 7 percent C 2 and C3.

Patel, however, refused to divulge more information regarding the quantity of the reserve and its market value.

The minister said that the reserve has been found at less depth and temperature, making it easier and cheaper to develop the field. GSPC plans to have two-three drills and bring out the product by December 2008.

Patel said the state government had got permission from the central government to lay a 3,000-km pipeline from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Ahmedabad to bring the fuel to Gujarat.

'The decision to lay the pipeline is yet to be taken since it requires huge investment. Our negotiations with other firms and private players in this regard are on,' he said.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service