Exploration well drilling on Yalama due to complete by mid-2005

The State Oil Company told Trend the drilling was implemented in compliance with the appropriate requirements and no problem was observed during the well drilling.

The SOCAR also noted that the well drilling depending on the pace of drilling might complete in the first half of 2005.

The leadership of LUKOIL decided to start drilling a well at a new point of the structure early in December 2004 as the company earlier faced problems caused by emergence of water at a depth of 1600 meters while drilling a well at the first point of the structure.

Drilling operations on the well, with a projected depth of 4500 meters, are being carried out by Maersk Company with a semi-submersible drilling rig after Heydar Aliyev.

The contracted area of the "Yalama" structure with 3000 square kilometers is located on the border of the Azerbaijani and Russian sectors of the Caspian Sea.

LUKOIL and SOCAR signed a contract on the "Yalama" structure in 1997. The share of the Russian company in the contract was increased from 60% to 80% in 2003.