 "RIL, BP relinquish yet another gas block; tally down to 5 exploration acreage")
New Delhi: Reliance Industries and its partner BP have surrendered one more oil and gas block, reducing their tally to 5 from 21 exploration acreage they held three years back.
“CY-D6 Block relinquished as part of portfolio rationalization,” RIL said in an investor presentation post announcing its first quarter earning numbers.
RIL had in February 2011 announced a “transformational” deal when UK’s BP picked up 30 percent stake in its 23 oil and gas blocks. However in August that year, the government allowed them to form a partnership in only 21 blocks.
[caption id=“attachment_88127” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption]
Since 2012, RIL and BP have been pruning their portfolio, shedding not so viable acreage.
This year, they shed CY-PR-DWN-2001/3 or CY-D6 block. RIL had in February 2012 announced a discovery in well SA1 in the block. This discovery was named D-53.
RIL said its current portfolio includes producing KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block in Bay of Bengal and Panna/Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields in the western offshore.
With BP, it is left with 5 blocks including KG-D6 and gas discovery areas of NEC-OSN-97/2 (NEC-25) and CY-DWN-2001/2 (CY-D5).
Besides, RIL also hold two coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks in Madhya Pradesh.
“Currently RIL holds 5 blocks other than KG-D6, PMT and 2 CBM blocks,” the company said in the presentation. RIL had won the block CY-PR-DWN-2001/3 in the third round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). BP farmed-in with 30 per cent stake in 2011.
In the presentation, RIL said its overseas portfolio comprises three blocks in Yemen and Peru.
“Current portfolio comprises of 3 blocks - 2 in Yemen and 1 in Peru,” it said, adding that RIL was awarded 2 blocks (M17 and M18) in March 2014 by Myanmar but a Production Sharing
Contract (PSC) is yet to be signed.
“… discussions are underway with Myanmar Government for signing PSC,” it said.
RIL had in 2007 incorporated a Dubai-based subsidiary, Reliance Exploration and Production (REP) DMCC for its overseas oil and gas forays.
REP DMCC had steadily acquired 15 conventional oil and gas assets, including four in Peru, three in Yemen (one producing and two exploratory), two each in Oman, Kurdistan and Colombia and one each in East Timor and Australia.
It, however, gave up most of the blocks due to poor prospects.
RIL exited a dozen properties during the past couple of years and the Myanmar acquisitions in March were its first recent overseas forays in conventional oil and gas.
It had in this period acquired interests in three shale gas ventures in the US, which earned the company revenue of $270 million and pre-tax profit of $201 million in Q1 of 2014-14, according to the presentation.
PTI
_Disclosure: Network 18, which publishes Firstpost and Firstbiz, is now part of the Reliance Group
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