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Feb 19 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries andUK partner BP plan joint investment of more than $5billion over the next three to five years to boost decliningoutput at a key natural gas field off India's east coast.
The D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin was expected tocontribute up to a quarter of the gas supply for Asia'sthird-largest economy and help to reduce expensive liquefiednatural gas (LNG) imports.
However, output from the field has been declining, puttingthe company under pressure from the government and regulators toincrease production, even as it has pushed the government toincrease the price it can charge for gas.
The two companies now plan to invest in a series ofmeasures to develop about 4 trillion cubic feet of discoverednatural gas from the block, Reliance said in a statement onTuesday.
Reliance holds a 60 percent stake in the D6 block, while BPhas a 30 percent share that it obtained in a $7.2 billion dealin 2011. The remainder is held by Canada's Niko Resources.
By the end of 2012 fields in the D6 block had produced 2trillion cubic feet of gas, according to Reliance, which iscontrolled by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. In NovemberReliance cut its estimate of gas reserves in the block by abouttwo thirds to 3.4 trillion cubic feet.
BP and Reliance said on Tuesday that they would acceleratethe pace of exploration and development as soon as approvals arereceived.
The companies have invested $5.5 billion in the field. Asecond planned investment of $3.3 billion was scrapped last yearbecause of declining in production at some blocks in the field.
