Asia’s deepest gas project starts production

The latest in a trio of deepwater gas projects in India has come online two months ahead of schedule

🕒 1.5 min read | 📰 News| 💡 Why it matters

Drilling work in the Satellites Cluster field of the KG D6 block

Important energy supply

Despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19, bp and its partner, Reliance, have started up the second in a trio of deepwater gas projects that will help to meet India’s rapidly expanding energy needs.

The start-up of the Satellite Cluster project comes swiftly after that of the R Cluster project in December 2020. Both are part of a deepwater gas project in block KG D6 off the nation’s east coast.

In numbers:

The Satellite development will produce gas from four reservoirs utilizing a total of five wells.
It is expected to reach plateau gas production of approximately 6mmscmd.
With R Cluster on track to produce 12.5mmscmd.
Together, the R Cluster and Satellite Cluster are expected to produce about 20% of India’s current gas production.

KGD6 project highlights

Integrated development

The final phase, MJ, is expected to come online in the latter part of 2022. All three are expected to produce around 30mmscmd (1 billion cubic feet a day) of natural gas by 2023, meeting up to 15% of India’s gas demand.

Dev Sanyal, bp executive vice president, gas & low carbon energy, said: “The start-up of production from the Satellite Cluster development is a continuation of the success of our partnership with Reliance, bringing together the best of both companies to build a high-quality, resilient hydrocarbons business. Our close collaboration allowed us to bring the Satellite Cluster on line ahead of schedule, even in these most challenging times.”

Crew members during an operators meeting on board the Dhirubhai KG2 drill ship, located off the coast of India

Gangway between the control riser platform and the MVW Falcon supply vessel

💡 Why it matters

India’s growing energy needs will require rapid scaling across a wide spectrum of energy sources and technological solutions. India is the world’s third-largest primary energy consumer today, with bp’s Energy Outlook seeing the country’s primary consumption set to more than double by 2050.

However, primary energy consumption per capita is significantly lower than most countries, indicating significant inequities in energy consumption. India consumes 5,274mb/d of oil, more than 80% of which is imported. Gas consumption is ~60 billion cubic metres (165mmscmd), and more than 50% is imported. India is taking great strides to improve access to energy, making it more affordable to all.