standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd).
RIL had earlier proposed investment of $2.47 billion to produce 40 mmscmd for 7.5 years from discoveries -- Dhirubhai 1 and 3 (in the D6 block) -- out of a total 34 wells.
"The company last month filed revised field development plan, proposing $5.2 billion investment in bringing gas to shore by July 2008," an industry source said.
The increase in cost has been mainly due to a 250 per cent jump in rig chartering rates.
An RIL spokesperson was not immediately available for comments.
The company has made a dozen discoveries from the 15 wells drilled in the deepsea block KG-DWN-98/3 (also known as KG-D6) but only the first four discoveries -- Dhirubhai 1, 2, 3 and 6 -- have been declared commercial. Only the discoveries declared commercial would be developed in the first phase.
First gas will now land in July 2008 at a gas processing facility near Kakinada through a 35-km, 24-inch diameter pipeline, sources said.
Reliance holds 90 per cent interest in Block D6 where it estimates reserves in excess of 14.5 trillion cubic feet. Niko Resources of Canada has the remaining 10 per cent.
Sources said the increased volumes would be sold at a price of 4-4.5 dollars per million British thermal unit, thereby increasing the government revenues from the field.
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