Monday, December 18, 2006
RELIANCE
Above 1300-1310 reliance goes into uncharted territory and can go berserk fib levels can be seen by the chart.
cheers
rish
Reliance finds huge oil reserves in block D6
"The MA-2 well has encountered the thickest hydrocarbon column discovered to date in D6," Niko Resources said in a release. Niko Resources has 10 per cent interest in the block KG-DWN-98/3, also known as D6. Reliance is the operator of the block with 90 per cent interest.
"MA-2 reached a target depth of 3581 metres and penetrated a gross hydrocarbon column of 194 metres consisting of 170 metres of gas/condensate and 24 metres of oil in the cretaceous section," the release said.
MA-2 is located approximately 2-km from the previous MA-1 oil discovery well.
"Application has been made for the commerciality of the MA field and approval is expected to be granted in the near future. The full field development plan will be submitted after approval of the commerciality and the oil development is to be fast tracke d with initial production targeted in the second quarter of 2008," it said.
The MA-1 well in June 2006 reached a total depth of 3,783 metres and hit 26 metres of net oil pay and 72 metres of net gas pay.
Reliance has till date made about a dozen gas discoveries in D6 and put combined reserves in the block at around 50 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). MA-2 is the second oil discovery on D6 after MA-1.RIL may tie up with Gazprom for Russia
The RIL move follows the recent visit of Russia’s deputy prime minister Alexander Zhukov who was in the capital early December. Talks were held between RIL officials and the Russian authorities on possible investments in Russia’s oil and gas sector. RIL may even rope in a Russian oil firm as its partner for the projects.
Although there is no confirmation, sources indicated that Gazprom, the state-run Russian oil major, may well partner RIL’s downstream ventures in Russia. RIL, it is learnt, is expected to push for stakes in upstream oil and gas assets in lieu of its investments in the downstream sector.
When contacted, RIL officials declined to comment. In what is being seen as a strategic move, RIL is concentrating on the downstream segment in Russia which offers huge opportunities. The move comes at a time when Russia is in the process of increasing government control over its oil and gas assets.
Several major global energy players like Shell and Exxon Mobil have been forced, on the pretext of regulatory issues, to divest their stakes and take on Russian state oil firms like Gazprom as strategic partners. But while Russian authorities are on a nationalisation drive in the upstream sector, its refining sector lags behind, requiring huge investments.
RIL’s move to enter this segment will, therefore, be welcome as the company will bring in global expertise to Russia’s refining segment. On RIL’s part, an entry into Russia will provide a foothold in the European markets, where there is a growing demand for high-grade fuel.
Reliance is planning to service some of the European markets with its high-grade fuel from the under-construction RPL refinery in Jamnagar. A stake in Russia’s refinery industry will only help them service this market better.
Russia has a total of 41 oil refineries with a total crude oil processing capacity of 5.44 million bbl/d. According to an EIA report, many of the refineries are inefficient, ageing, and in need of modernisation. With Russian domestic demand at 2.6 million bbl/d in 2004, refining capacity far outstrips local needs for refined products.
According to the draft plan for economic development during 2005-08, Russia will concentrate on the reconstruction and upgrading of refineries so that they can convert a higher level of crude. The draft focuses on increasing the production of high-quality light oil products, catalysts and raw material for the petrochemical industry.
ONGC finds huge gas reserves in Bay of Bengal
ONGC, which had previously discovered 2-3 tcf of gas reserves in about half-a-dozen wells in the Krishna-Godavari Basin block KG-DWN-98/2, struck a 28 metre net gas pay zone when deepsea drillship Belford Dolphin reached 5,300 metres depth at well UD-1, 55-kms from the coast.
"The ultra-deepwater well UD-1 is yet to reach its target depth of 6,500 meters and vertical seismic profile has thrown up at least one more pay zone larger than the one encountered. There could also be oil," an industry source said.
The well UD-1 will reach its target depth in next 10 days and testing will take another week.
"ONGC might be planning a new year gift to the nation with this (discovery)," the source quipped.
The state-run firm had done a mud drill test of the ultra-deepwater well UD-1 and preliminary estimate put in-place reserves at 600 billion cubic meters (over 21 tcf). The second net pay zone could be in excess of 80 meters and there appeared traces of oil too, the source said.
When contacted, Dinesh Kumar Pandey, director of exploration at ONGC, said: "It is too early to comment on reserves. We are yet to reach the target depth and will wait for conventional testing results before hazarding any guess on the size of the discovery." Reliance Industries Ltd estimates 50 tcf of in-place reserves in neighbouring KG-DWN-98/3 block, while Gujarat State Petroleum Corp had last year found 20 tcf reserves in a shallow water block in the same basin.