ACE platform jacket ready for load-out

By Azernews

Ayya Lmahamad

Azeri Central East platform jacket, built at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deepwater Jackets Factory (BDJF), is ready for load-out to sail away to its permanent location in the ACG contract area in the Caspian Sea, bp Azerbaijan told Azernews.

"The construction of the jacket was completed safely and on schedule. It will be loaded out onto the transportation barge STB-1 at the quayside of BDJF in preparation for sail-away," bp noted.

The ACE platform jacket, built by BOS Shelf, was fully constructed in Azerbaijan, using local construction infrastructure and facilities. Over 2,000 people including sub-contractors and specialist vendors were involved in the construction works and the majority of the workforce were Azerbaijani citizens.

The platform jacket weighs 16,000 tonnes and stands 153 meters high. It contains three production risers - one water injection, one oil export, and one gas export. The jacket will be installed in a water depth of 137 meters.

"The ACE project represents the start of the ACG’s renewed contract in action. We are very pleased to have completed the first massive piece of the project – the ACE platform jacket, safely and on schedule. This is a significant step towards the first ACE oil achievement. We will now focus on the other parts of the project – topside facilities, subsea construction, and offshore installation as we move towards completion of the entire project next year. This will allow us to start drilling the first well for the commencement of ACE production," bp's regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye Gary Jones said.

He also thanked the country's government, SOCAR, and other partners for their support and cooperation in delivering this important milestone.

"My thanks are also to all people representing bp, contractors, and subcontractors whose hard work has made this outstanding achievement possible. I would like to specifically thank BOS Shelf for their firm commitment to bp’s safety standards throughout the three-year construction activities delivering the work without a single day off from work case through 3 million work-hours spent to date," he added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the BDJF yard on December 13 for an official ceremony to launch the jacket, which will sail away for offshore installation in the first quarter of 2023.

The ACE project is a $6 billion development that includes a new offshore platform and facilities designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to produce up to 300 million barrels over its lifetime.

The ACE sanction is the first major investment decision by the ACG partnership since the extension of the ACG Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) to 2049 was agreed upon in 2017.

Around $42 billion has been invested into the development of the ACG area since the original PSA was signed in 1994.

The ACE project is centered on a new 48-slot production, drilling, and quarters platform located mid-way between the existing Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms in a water depth of approximately 140 meters. The project will also include new infield pipelines to transfer oil and gas from the ACE platform to the existing ACG Phase 2 oil and gas export pipelines for transportation to the onshore Sangachal terminal.

In addition, there will be a water injection pipeline installed between the East Azeri and ACE platforms to supply injection water from the Central Azeri compression and water injection platform to the ACE facilities.