NEW DELHI, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Indian energy company Reliance Industries Ltd. and BP announced Friday they discovered natural gas while drilling off the eastern coast of India.
"Preliminary evaluation of well data and fluid samples indicated presence of gas condensate in the reservoir interval with a gross column of 469 feet," the company said in a statement.
RIL said Friday it made the discovery while working with BP off the eastern Indian coast in the Cauvery reserve area in deep waters.
The Indian company said the well flowed at a rate of 35.2 million cubic feet per day during a preliminary test. RIL said it issued a formal notification to the Indian government confirming the natural gas discovery.
India is the fourth largest consumer of energy resources in the world. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the Energy Department, said India lacks the infrastructure necessary to make full use of its natural gas reserves. It started importing liquefied natural gas from Qatar in 2004.
