The Gujarat government on Monday said it had proven gas reserves of 10.8 trillion cubic feet in the Deendayal gasfield in the Krishna-Godvari basin off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.
Also, it expects the probable gas reserves in the block, awarded to a consortium led by the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, to surpass the earlier estimate of 20 tcf.
"As on date, GSPC has drilled 15 wells, of which 11 have proven reserves of 10.8 tcf. The gas production in the field, spread across 1,850 sq km, is likely to kick off after two-and-a-half years," Saurabh Patel, the state's energy and petrochemicals minister, informed the assembly.
Of the 15 wells, GSPC received success in 11 wells, while three showed no gas flow. Testing in one well is yet to be done. "The 11 wells are located in Deendayal west, east and north gasfields. Another gasfield may have gas reserves of 10 tcf or more," said senior GSPC officials.
"Around Rs 3,778 crore (Rs 37.78 billion) has already been pumped in for field development and the government hopes to infuse nearly Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) for further development of the field in the K-G basin," Patel added, while replying to a question raised by Vasuben Trivedi, an MLA from the Jamnagar constituency.
The state government has already submitted the field development plan for the GSPC-held block in the K-G basin to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons. The production activity will be carried out after the DGH approval.
Patel also stated that the state wants to supply gas, to be produced from the block, to small and medium enterprises, power, fertilisers, chemicals and domestic consumers. "We will also approach the Centre seeking this gas from Gujarat," he added.