Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has put an end to speculation regarding its ability to exploit hydrocarbon from its offshore asset in Krishna-Godavari Basin, on schedule. It has been able to flow crude oil for the first time from the deepwater area.

Sources told Business Line that the company has started crude oil production off the Andhra Pradesh coast and an announcement is expected to be made by the company’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh D. Ambani, on Sunday. RIL started pumping crude oil from its Dhirubhai 26 field in D6 Block from September 17.

RIL’s D6 Block (KG-DWN-98/3), which is predominantly a gas rich area, has attracted attention not only for its finds but also for the controversies regarding who would be the beneficiary of the gas.

he current oil output is expected to be over 200 barrels per day. Sources maintained that oil production from the field will be ramped up slowly.

The Block is held by a consortium of RIL and Niko Resources of Canada. RIL is the operator of the block with 90 per cent stake. The D26 field has been found to have oil, condensate, and associate gas.

While the oil would be sold to refiners, the associate gas, sources said, would be injected back. The FPSO (floating, production, storage and offloading system) installed by RIL earlier this week has the facilities to handle all – oil, condensate and associate gas. Therefore, nothing would go waste, sources explained.

RIL has invested $2.234 billion in the oilfield. It is investing $5.2 billion in phase-I of its gas field development plan, production from which is expected by the end of this year