BP, its partners invested over $15B in Shah Deniz 2 project

By Azernews

By Gunay Camal

Gordon Birrell, former BP regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey has announced that so far BP and its partners invested more than $15 billion in the Shah Deniz 2 project in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Birrell, talking to reporters in Baku on March 29, said that BP plans to release the gas from the Shah Deniz field into the expanded system of the South Caucasus Pipeline in test mode in late 2017, Trend reported.

Being one of the main components of the large-scale Southern Gas Corridor project, Shah Deniz 2 is expected to add a further 16 bcm per year of gas production to the approximately 9 bcm  per year produced by Shah Deniz Stage 1.

 Reserves of the field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 240 million tons of condensate. The gas is projected to be exported to Georgia, Turkey and European markets through expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

The total cost of the Shah Deniz 2 project, being developed by a consortium of companies, is expected to hit $25 billion.

BP Azerbaijan is the operator of the block of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli offshore oil and gas fields, as well as Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

In early March, British BP announced the appointment of Gary Jones as the new Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey (AGT).  Jones will take his office from April 2 and be based in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Gordon Birrell has successfully led BP’s regional business since November 2012. Birrell’s new role will be BP’s Chief Operating Officer, Production, Transformation and Carbon based in BP’s headquarters in London.