RIL D6 Gas Output May Fall: Min

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>Gas output from Reliance Industries-operated D6 block, off India's east coast, is projected to decline to 20 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd) in 2014/15 from an estimated 28 mscmd in this fiscal year, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said on Tuesday.<br><br>D6 gas output has been declining for more than a year, resulting in a sharp fall in India's gas output and forcing the country to resort to increased imports of expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the demands of its expanding economy.<br><br>Gas output may average 24 mscmd in the next fiscal year starting April 2013, Reddy told lawmakers in a written reply to a question.<br><br>He said gas availability in the country from local sources may rise to 113 mscmd in 2014/15 from an expected 104 mscmd in this fiscal year. In the next fiscal year it is projected to inch up to 105 mscmd, he said.<br><br><br>(Reuters)</p>