Reliance Industries Finds Gas Reserves in KG Basin

India's Reliance Industries Ltd. (500325.BY) has discovered substantial gas reserves in the Krishna-Godavari basin, off the country's east coast, for the second time, reports the Financial Express newspaper.

The company informed the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, or DGH, and the Petroleum Ministry about the discovery on Oct. 24, the paper said.

The level of gas reserves at the site, named Dhirubhai-23, is not yet known, it said.

"On the basis of the seismo-geological model, the contractor considers that Dhirubhai-23 is a non-associated natural gas discovery of potential commercial interest," Reliance said in a letter to the DGH, according to the paper.

In 2002, Reliance made a 14-trillion-cubic-feet (396.4-billion-cubic-meter) gas discovery in the gas-rich Krishna-Godavari basin.

"As the operator of the block, Reliance gave notification of the discovery on Oct. 24," the paper quotes an unnamed DGH official as saying. "We have evaluated the technical report and confirm that the discovery is of commercial interest".

The official said Reliance has been given approval to ascertain the quantity of gas reserves.



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