Reliance, BP start MJ gas field offshore India
Mumbai-listed Reliance Industries (RIL) and UK oil major BP on June 30 announced the start of production from the MJ gas field, marking the completion of three major new deepwater developments in block KG D6 off the east coast of India.
The MJ field, a high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) gas and condensate field, is expected to reach peak production of around 12mn m3/day and 25,000 barrels/day of condensate.
The first two deposits, R-Series and the Satellite clusters, received FIDs in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Reliance and BP achieved the first gas at R-Series in late 2020 and brought the Satellite cluster on stream in April 2021.
Together, these three fields are projected to produce approximately 30mn m3/day, accounting for around one-third of India's current domestic gas production and meeting about 15% of India's demand.
The development of the MJ field involved the utilisation of existing hub infrastructure for the KG D6 block. The gas and condensate produced from the field will be processed and separated on a new floating production, storage, and offloading vessel called the Ruby. The gas will be sent onshore for sale, while the condensate will be stored on the FPSO and later offloaded to shuttle tankers for supply to Indian refineries.
RIL operates as the operator of the KG D6 block with a 66.67% participating interest, while BP holds a 33.33% stake.