Reliance halts MA block oil production to add more wells

30 March 2009

Reliance Industries Ltd has temporarily stopped crude oil production at its MA field in its gas-rich KG-D6 block on the east coast beginning midnight of 22 March, in order to start more wells and raise output, a company spokesman said on Monday.

Reliance shut down production at the MA field on the midnight of 22 March for 45 days to connect more oils that will raise the output, a source said.

The MA field, producing about 18,000 barrels per day of oil from three wells, would remain shut for 45 days from 22 March, when production at two-three more wells would be hooked up, company sources said.

The synchronisation of production with new wells would raise MA field output to 40,000 bpd before the end of the April-June quarter, the source said.

Reliance began oil production from MA-1 field in the Krishna Godavari block in mid-September and was producing about 10,000 bpd of oil from two wells before it had shut its floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) system for nearly three months from December.

The MA field in KG-D6 off the Andhra coast, which began pumping out oil in September 2008, had produced 7,90,000 barrels of oil till 9 December last year, when output ceased due to equipment failure.