News: Reliance unveils 3-pronged push

(DNA 28/06/2006) Mumbai - Reliance Industries will unleash a three-pronged approach as it rapidly expands and consolidates and enters new economy businesses.

Chairman Mukesh Ambani said the strategy would be to forge new growth avenues in urban infrastructure and special economic zones, found new-economy businesses in life sciences and health care and develop options for cross-border acquisitions in existing and new businesses.

Ambani also announced a new crude oil discovery in the Krishna Godavari Basin at the 32nd annual general meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday.

“RIL recently had a crude oil discovery in the MA1 well in the deep water D6 Block in the basin,” he said. Testing was done in two zones located three kilometres below sea level.

For Reliance, the discovery more than size signifies a large geological play that result in future discoveries.

“As Reliance moves ahead, oil and gas exploration and production would undoubtedly be the highest value creating business. Reliance has embarked upon an aggressive exploratory drilling program,” Ambani said.

Meanwhile, the company is planning one of the largest gas development projects in the world to transport gas through a 48-inch, 1,386 kilometre east coast to west coast pipeline, which will traverse Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Reliance is implementing this project through Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd in a contract and common carrier framework, he added.

RIL’s exploration for oil and gas is about a third of India’s prospective areas. Testing in two zones, located three kilometres below sea level, has shown significant presence of oil.

The potential of this discovery is under evaluation, he added. RIL also had crude oil discoveries in two wells in the KG-III-6 shallow water block.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has declared the six gas discoveries in the NEC25 block of the Mahanadi basin as commercial, he added.

Reliance is working on the expeditious monetisation of the discoveries made in the Krishna Godavari and Mahanadi basins.

The project is on schedule, Mukesh said, and added that major contracts awarded and delivery to consumers envisaged to take place by the second half of the financial year 2008-09.

This delivery time target represents less than six years from the time of announcement of the discovery and ranks among the fastest turnarounds for deepwater gas development projects in the world.Reliance also continues to make good progress with the coal bed methane project as well as with production from the Panna-Mukta Tapti fields.