Reliance, BP to develop deepest gas discovery in KG-D6 by 2022

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and its partner BP Plc of UK Tuesday announced investment sanction for development of their deepest natural gas discovery in the flagging KG-D6 block by 2022. Reliance-BP will develop the MJ, or D-55, gas find in sync with the previously approved projects to the develop two sets of discoveries in the block that will together add 30-35 million standard cubic metres per day of natural gas production in phases.

MJ gas find, located about 2,000 metres directly below the currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) fields in the KG-D6 block, is estimated to hold a minimum of 0.988 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of contingent resource.

"MJ is the third of three new projects in the Block KG-D6 integrated development plan and its approval follows sanctions for the development of 'R-Series' deep-water gas field in June 2017 and for the Satellites Cluster in April 2018," the company said in a press statement.

Reliance-BP did not give the individual cost of the three projects but said they together will cost an estimated Rs 35,000 crore.

The three projects will develop a total of about 3 Tcf of discovered gas resources. "These projects together, when fully developed, will bring about 1 billion cubic feet a day of new domestic gas onstream, phased over 2020-2022," the statement said.

Reliance and BP had in June 2017 announced an investment of up to Rs 40,000 crore in the three sets of discoveries to reverse the flagging production in KG-D6 block. These finds were expected to bring a total 30-35 million cubic metres (1 billion cubic feet) of gas a day onstream, phased over 2020-22. R-Cluster will be first to come on stream, delivering gas in the second half of 2020-21 fiscal.