RIL cuts gas supply to non-core users; tightens belt
09 May 2011
A day after Mukesh Ambani refuted reports of falling output at the KG-D6 gas field off India's east coast, Reliance Industries today announced a reduction in natural gas supplies to non-core users like refineries and steel plants in order to meet demands of fertiliser and power plants in full.
The company also is in the process of a planned cost-cutting, figures released in its annual report showed.
Following petroleum ministry's directive(See: Government directs RIL to meet priority sector gas supplies despite output fall), Reliance Industries today announced priority allocation of natural gas from the KG-D6 field to fertiliser units and power plants.
Non-core users like refineries, petrochemical units and sponge iron plants will get gas allocation from the KG-D6 block depending on the availabilty after supplies to the priority sector.
The petroleum ministry's directive comes after gas production at Reliance-operated KG-D6 field plummeted from its peak 61.5 million standard cubic metres per day in March 2010 to below 50 mmscmd at present.
Reliance was expected to raise gas production at the field to about 69 mmscmd as was projected earlier.