Reliance to invest up to $700 mn in shale gas venture.

Reliance Industries will invest up to $700 million in its shale gas venture in the current fiscal and also ramp up spends under the $13 billion capex programme in the petrochemical and refining business.

'We will invest $600-700 million in the shale gas venture. This figure has almost become into a yearly run rate now...we hope to open around 125 to 175 new wells during the year,' RIL Chief Financial Officer Alok Agarwal told reporters.

The shale gas business grew significantly during the year and has become a material contributor to earnings.

On other capital expenditure plans for FY15, he pointed towards RIL's $13 billion programme on the petrochemical and refining front and noted that 30 per cent of the targeted amount is done and the balance 70 per cent will get invested in the next 18-24 months.

On KG-D6, he said the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate will focus on improving production from the gas block in the current fiscal and maintained that the output grew in the just-concluded fourth quarter.

The average daily production moved up by a notch in the fourth quarter as against the earlier quarter, he said.

HBL