RIL may get 5-yr extension for Kerala-Konkan exploration

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries (RIL) may get additional five years for exploring oil and gas in a deepwater block in the Kerala-Konkan (KK) basin. The government is considering a request of the company for granting special R&D exploration status to the block that would extend time period for meeting the work programme, besides saving the company from non-availability of deepwater rigs. This comes at a time when a similar request by ONGC for extending time-frame was rejected by the regulator.

Seeking an R&D time window for five years, RIL in its application to upstream regulator said: “RIL is also ready to share the data, knowledge and the end results with other operators and even welcomes a joint pursuit of basin-scale studies with other operators, national institutes and Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH).”

It is learnt that DGH has referred it to the petroleum ministry for a final decision. It, however, said the request does not fall under any provision of production sharing contract. In its application, RIL said that denying a special status would mean a loss for both — the government as well as the company. “It will be an easy solution for RIL to complete the minimum work programme and surrender the blocks without positive results, a lose-lose situation for both RIL and government of India,” the company said.

The time window has been sought for five years, effective from January 1, 2007. The block KK-DWN-2001/1 was awarded to RIL in 2002 under the second round of new exploration licensing policy (NELP-II). The block has an area of 18,113 sqkm in the 6 lakh sqkm-vast Kerala-Konkan basin.

The special status would also provide a breathing space to RIL which is facing an acute shortage of deepwater rigs. “In addition, grant of R&D exploration status circumvents the present predicament of non-availability of deepwater rigs and thus, provides an opportunity for an exploration synthesis as requested,” the letter said.

RIL has, so far, not reported any success in finding oil and gas in the block. Citing its recent experience in drilling an exploratory well, it said that the block is located on a volcanic margin needing a special exploration paradigm for success. Hydrocarbon exploration has, traditionally, been avoided in basins dominated by volcanic and igneous intrusions such as Kerala-Konkan basin, mainly due to the inability to seismically image below basalts / sills and also due to the perceived detrimental effect of volcanic activity on the petroleum system, it added.