RIL to start natural gas production from MJ field in KG Basin block from Q3 FY23

• In a recent presentation to investors, RIL said that the production of natural gas from MJ field is expected to raise the company's overall output by about two-thirds
• RIL and BP are developing three deepwater gas projects in block KG D6 – R Cluster, Satellites Cluster and MJ

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) expects the MJ field — the third and the last set of discoveries being developed by RIL in eastern offshore KG-D6 block — to start natural gas production by Q3 of FY2022-23 (December quarter 2022). In a recent presentation to investors, the telecom-to-oil conglomerate said that the production of natural gas from MJ field is expected to raise the company's overall output by about two-thirds. RIL also said that it has completed its first offshore installation campaign and a second one would commence in November this year.

RIL and its partner British Petroleum (BP) plan to use a floating production system at high-sea in the Bay of Bengal to bring to production the deepest gas discovery in the KG-D6 block. For the other block (KG-UDW1) won by RIL and BP in the KG Basin, the company said that it has completed seismic data acquisition and is processing it.

RIL's KG Basin blocks

Earlier in December 2020, Reliance Industries announced the start of natural gas production from the R Cluster, ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG D6. Then in April this year, Satellite Cluster came onstream. RIL and BP are developing three deepwater gas projects in block KG D6 – R Cluster, Satellites Cluster and MJ – which together are expected to meet ~15 percent of India's gas demand by 2023. RIL is the operator of KG D6 with a 66.67 percent participating interest and BP holds a 33.33 percent participating interest.

Peak gas production from the three fields is expected to be around 30 MMSCMD (1 bcf/d) by 2023 which is expected to be about 25 percent of India's domestic production and will help reduce the country's dependence on imported gas.

Backdrop

The news comes just days after official data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas showed that the cumulative natural gas production during April-June period or Q1 of FY22 jumped 20.39 percent year-on-year to reach 8,168.56 MMSCM primarily on account of increased gas production from Reliance's D-34 field and satellite cluster fields in KG DWN 98/3 block.

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