Reliance Industries, bp start production from third field in KG-D6 block

At peak capacity, block to account for one third of India's domestic gas production

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and bp Plc, on Friday, confirmed the commencement of production from the MJ field in the KG-D6 block off the east coast.

The field represents the last of three major new deepwater developments the RIL-bp consortium has brought into production in the block.

Together, the three fields are expected to produce around 30 million standard cubic meters of gas a day (1 billion cubic feet a day) when the MJ field reaches peak production, the consortium said.

This is expected to account for around one-third of India’s current domestic gas production and meet approximately 15 percent of India’s demand. 

MJ itself is a high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT), gas & condensate field. The field will produce from eight wells and reach a peak gas production of around 12 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meters per Day (MMSCMD) gas and 25,000 barrels of condensate per day.

Discovered in 2013 and sanctioned in 2019, the MJ field is located in water depths of up to 1,200 metres about 30 kilometres from the existing onshore terminal at Gadimoga on the east coast.  

"We continue to be proud of our partnership with bp that combines our expertise in commissioning complex projects under some of the most challenging environments in the last few years. Alongside the other KG D6 fields, the MJ development truly supports the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Energy vision’ laid out by the Government of India," Mukesh Ambani, RIL Chairman and Managing Director said on the occasion.

RIL is the operator of the KG D6 block with a 66.67 percent participating interest, with BP holding the rest.

“By safely bringing these new developments onstream, RIL and bp are making an important contribution to meeting India’s demand for secure supplies of gas. Our close strategic partnership with RIL now stretches back over 15 years and we are proud of how it continues to deepen – in gas, retail, aviation fuels and sustainable mobility solutions,” bp chief executive Bernard Looney said.

The consortium also announced a new Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel – the ‘Ruby’ – to process and separate the condensate, gas, water, and impurities, before sending the gas onshore for sale. Condensate is stored on the FPSO before being offloaded to shuttle tankers for supply to Indian refineries, it said.