New Delhi: India's natural gas output is headed for a muted show in FY25 after three straight years of rise, as the production outlook is rather circumspect at Reliance Industries' KG Basin fields that were at the vanguard of the industry's growth in recent years.
India produced 27.3 billion cubic meters in April-December 2024, compared with 27.2 billion cubic meters in the same period a year earlier. In the second and third quarters of the current fiscal year, output was lower than in the previous year.
The growth over the past three fiscal years was primarily fuelled by Reliance Industries' new fields in the KG basin, as output from state-run ONGC's fields had been declining for several years.
Domestic gas production had slumped 40% in nine years to 2020-21 but surged 19% year-on-year in 2021-22 after Reliance Industries brought to production some new fields in the KG D6 block. In 2022-23, domestic production rose 1% while in 2023-24, it increased 6%.
The circumspect KG D6 production outlook is now weighing on national gas output. Average gas production at the KG D6 block was 28 million metric standard cubic meters a day (mmscmd) in October-December quarter, down 5.3% from a year earlier, according to RIL's earnings presentation. KG D6 output was 28.5 mmscmd in the second quarter and 28.7 mmscmd in the first.
Output at state-run ONGC, which produces about half of domestic gas, has fallen 2.5% year-on-year in Oct-Dec. Production from fields operated by the private sector, including Reliance, Vedanta and other smaller players, has risen by 4% in Oct-Dec.
Explorers have been putting to production minor gas discoveries or using enhanced oil recovery techniques to boost output from matured fields. But for national output to rise significantly, companies must be able to find major discoveries and monetise them fast, an industry executive said.
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The growth over the past three fiscal years was primarily fuelled by Reliance Industries' new fields in the KG basin, as output from state-run ONGC's fields had been declining for several years.
Domestic gas production had slumped 40% in nine years to 2020-21 but surged 19% year-on-year in 2021-22 after Reliance Industries brought to production some new fields in the KG D6 block. In 2022-23, domestic production rose 1% while in 2023-24, it increased 6%.
The circumspect KG D6 production outlook is now weighing on national gas output. Average gas production at the KG D6 block was 28 million metric standard cubic meters a day (mmscmd) in October-December quarter, down 5.3% from a year earlier, according to RIL's earnings presentation. KG D6 output was 28.5 mmscmd in the second quarter and 28.7 mmscmd in the first.
Output at state-run ONGC, which produces about half of domestic gas, has fallen 2.5% year-on-year in Oct-Dec. Production from fields operated by the private sector, including Reliance, Vedanta and other smaller players, has risen by 4% in Oct-Dec.
Explorers have been putting to production minor gas discoveries or using enhanced oil recovery techniques to boost output from matured fields. But for national output to rise significantly, companies must be able to find major discoveries and monetise them fast, an industry executive said.
