Gandhinagar, DeshGujarat

State-run Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) expects to produce 8-10 million cubic metres of gas per day from end-2010 from its block off the Andhra Pradesh coast. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said adrresing journalists via video conferencing said on Wednesday that GSPC had found more gas in the Krishna Godavari basin deep-sea block. The firm expects total block reserves to be over 20 trillion cubic feet (tcf).

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi declared valuation of on Thursday for the gas find by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) in the Krishna-Godavari basin at $100 billion. “The GSPC would be able to fulfil the energy requirements of Gujarat for a long time to come”.Modi siad in his video conferencing oriented press meet. Modi had rushed slongwith his ministers to the offshore drilling platform off the Andhra coast and addressed a press meet from there.

On Thursday Modi and his ministers flew to the KG-22 well near Kakinada, which has created a lot of excitement as its estimated gas reserve of three trillion cubic feet (TCF) is said to be the highest ever from any single well anywhere in India. The total gas in the GSPC’s Deen Dayal block, which is under exploration right now, would be to the tune of Rs 4 lakh crore, or $100 billion.

“We plan to use profit from GSPC for health and education of poor children in Gujarat.” Modi said. On future path of GSPC, he said the GSPC’s commercial output of 8 to 10 million cubic metres of gas daily will start by 2010-end. The GSPC plans to set up a gas processing plant at Kakinada on 300 acres of land this year. The gas will be shipped to Gujarat via Reliance pipeline and will be supplied across Gujarat for homes, industries and automobile.

GSPC holds an 80-percent stake in the block, awarded for exploration to GSPC along with its partners Jubilant Enpro and Canada’s GeoGlobal Resource in 2003.

The KG basin, where Reliance Industries and state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp have also found gas, has huge reserves. Output from Reliance’s assets is expected to double gas supplies in the energy-hungry country.