In June, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and bp confirmed the commencement of production from the MJ field, following testing and commissioning activities. The MJ field represents the last of three major new deepwater developments the RIL-bp consortium have brought into production in block KG D6 off the east coast of India.
The start of gas and condensate production from the MJ field follows the start-up of the R-Cluster field in December 2020 and Satellite Cluster in April 2021. All three developments utilise the existing hub infrastructure for the block.
Together, the three fields are expected to produce around 30 million standard cubic metres of gas a day (1 billion cubic feet a day) when MJ field reaches peak production. This is expected to account for around one third of India’s current domestic gas production and meet approximately 15% of India’s demand.
bp chief executive Bernard Looney said: “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. Together we are helping to meet India’s growing energy needs, bringing the best of each partner to create real value.”
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 of India.
MJ is a high pressure and high temperature (HPHT), gas and condensate field. The field will produce from eight wells and reach a peak gas production of around 12 million standard cubic metres of gas per day and 25,000 barrels of condensate a day.
The development includes 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.