Krishna Godavari Basin’s R- Cluster

The Reliance Industries Limited and British Petroleum recently announced the start of gas production from the R cluster. R Cluster is the deepest Off-shore gas field in Asia. It is the first of the three deepwater gas projects jointly developed by Reliance Industries Limited and British Petroleum.

What is R Cluster?

The R cluster is an off-shore gas field which is a part of the KG-D6 block of the Krishna Godavari Basin. The other 2 deep-water gas projects in the block are Satellite Cluster and the MJ gas field. The R cluster is the deepest off-shore gas field in Asia and is expected to have a peak production of 12.9 MMSCMSD which is 10% of India’s natural gas output at present.

About R Cluster

The British Petroleum and Reliance India Limited are to jointly invest Rs 40,000 crores on the three fields. Thte production was to start by May 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19. The satellite cluster is to start production in 2021-22.

It is located 60 kilo metres from the existing KG D6 Control and Riser Platform off the Kakinada coast.

Significance of R-cluster

All the three projects are being planned to boost the domestic production of natural gas. This will increase the share of natural gas in the energy basket of India from 6.2% now to 15% in 2030. This will decrease India’s dependence on imports and improve energy security.

Natural Gas in India

The estimated natural gas reserves in India as of March 2018 was 1,339 billion cubic metres. The largest natural gas reserve in the country is located in the Eastern and the Western offshore. The first Natural Gas reserves in India was discovered in 1889 in Digboi, Assam. In India, the Natural Gas is consumed in fertilizers, steel, petrochemical and in City Gas Distribution largely.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2020