June 18, 2012. With natural gas output from its KG-D6 block dipping to all-time low, Reliance Industries has proposed to drill first exploration well in almost five years on the flagging D1&D3 gas fields there. Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) gas fields, the largest among the 18 gas finds on the KG-D6 block, have proved to be more difficult to produce than previously predicted and RIL wants to drill a probe well on the fields to study reservior characteristic. The reservior has seen sharper than expected drop in pressure and water and sand ingress in production wells, leading to drop in output. RIL wants to study the reservior phenomenon and wants to drill and exploratory well. It has written to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons proposing to drill exploration well KGD6-MJ1 in the D1-D3 development area to probe the Mesozoic synrift clastic reservoir lying below the D1-D3 (Pliocene) Mining Lease area. D1&D3 have seen output fall from 53-54 million standard cubic meter per day achieved in March 2010 to 25.56 mmscmd. Together with 6.01 mmcmd output from MA oilfield in the same block, KG-D6 produced 31.57 mmmcd. The output from KG-D6 is short of the 70.39 mmscmd-level (61.88 mmscmd from D1 and D3 and 8.5 mmscmd from the MA field) envisaged as per the field development plan approved in 2006. While Reliance holds 60 per cent interest in KG-D6, UK's BP Plc holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent.