India's latest gas find casts further doubts on country's need for massive gas imports

Jan. 27, 2003
India's natural gas bounty just got bigger, casting further doubts on the country's need for massive gas imports via LNG or pipeline options.

India's natural gas bounty just got bigger, casting further doubts on the country's need for massive gas imports via LNG or pipeline options.

An Indian-Canadian combine has gauged another deepwater gas discovery on Block D6 in the Krishna-Godavari basin off eastern India.

The latest find is near a giant discovery that some in India contend may obviate the need to import gas in the huge volumes projected earlier. The earlier find, also made by Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, and Niko Resources Inc., Calgary, holds 7 tcf of gas in place. Even though a reserves figure has not been confirmed officially yet, it would still stand as India's largest gas accumulation.

India has for some years investigated a number of proposed LNG import terminals to meet its projected strong growth in gas demand. The nation also has been the focus of several schemes to deliver or transit gas sourced elsewhere in the Persian Gulf or south-central Asia (see related story, p. 18).

Discovery details

F1, 10 km east of the edge of the giant A1 discovery, cut 27 m of net gas pay and flowed 41 MMcfd of dry, sweet gas through a 60/64-in. choke on an equipment-constrained, cased-hole drillstem test. Technical problems prevented evaluation of a deeper potential oil target.

Reliance and Niko drilled F1 to TD at 3,630 m in 1,756 m of water in the Bay of Bengal. It is the block's fifth well. Integrated 3D seismic and well interpretation indicates that F1 was drilled on a distinctly separate anomaly from A1, the original discovery on D6, Niko said.

A reserves report on A1 field, delineated by the block's first four wells, is expected from DeGolyer & MacNaughton consulting engineers in March (OGJ Online, Nov. 7, 2002).

Niko also completed the fourth and fifth wells on its Surat Block in western India. The fourth well flowed 1.4 MMcfd of gas from a shallow horizon, and the fifth well flowed a combined 2.4 MMcfd of gas from three shallow zones. The shallow play appears to cover 15 sq km on 3D seismic, Niko said.