Reliance, BP get key ship on KG-D6 for expediting gas output

?Reliance Industries and its partner BP plc of the UK have brought a deepsea pipeline laying ship to their Bay of Bengal block KG-D6 to help bring newer gas finds to production by 2020-21, the British firm said.

Reliance-BP are targeting to bring to production the R-Series and satellite fields in KG-D6 block by 2020, just around the time KG-D6 block's currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) fields cease to produce.

These fields along with the ultra deep MJ find are to produce 30-35 million standard cubic metres per day of peak natural gas.

McDermott's DLV2000 vessel will install deepsea pipelines to connect the R-Series and satellite cluster discoveries to production system.

"2019 will see work pick up speed, three projects on track to bring gas on shore," BP India tweeted and attached a blog on DLV2000.

DLV2000 is a class 3 dynamic positioning vessel combining a 2,200-tonne revolving crane with a deepwater underdeck S-lay pipeline system configured to install pipelines with diameters ranging from 4.5 to 60 inches in water depths up to 10,000 feet.

"On 26th December, we completed the as planned mobilization of the ?DLV2000 on Reliance R / S Cluster 8 well OBO development project in Bay of Bengal, East Coast India for season 1 offshore campaign," BP said in the blog.

OBO refers to fields operated by others.

Reliance is the operator of KG-D6 block with 60 per cent interest while BP plc holds 30 per cent stake. Niko Resources of Canada holds the remaining 10 per cent.

The D1 and D3 fields, the first of the one-and-a-half dozen gas discoveries in KG-D6 that were brought to production in April 2009, will cease to produce by end-2019 or early 2020.

This shutdown will coincide with upgradation, modification, and preparation of facilities and operating system to connect new fields, sources said, adding the R-Series is likely to give first gas in mid-2020 while satellite and MJ field may begin output in 2021 and 2022.

Reliance has till date made 19 oil and gas discoveries in the Krishna Godavari basin. Of these, D26 or MA -- the only oil discovery in the block -- was the first field to begin production (in September 2008). D1 and D3 fields went onstream in April 2009. ?