BP to drill new wells in Azerbaijan

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

BP plans to drill six wells in Azerbaijan within the next two years, BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gary Jones told at a meeting on the results of 2018 and plans 2019, Trend reports.

Gary Jones noted that BP has signed four exploration contracts, and the drilling will be carried out on the basis of these contracts.

He noted that expectations from the block D-230 are high. If the work at this exploration block is successful, BP will discover a field similar to the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field in volume, he said.

Jones stressed that BP exceeded its forecasts in 2018. He noted that the work carried out in Azerbaijan has a special place in the BP portfolio and in terms of volume is similar to the work carried out in Brazil.

Later, Jones added that an investment decision is planned to be made on the Azeri Central East project in the second quarter of 2019.

As noted by Jones, there are initial proposals for the cost, which are presented to shareholders and discussed with the Azerbaijani government and SOCAR.

He noted that discussions on the cost of the project are currently underway, and there is enough time for a decision to be made.

First oil production from the Azeri Central East Project, which is a part of the project for development of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields, will be implemented in 2023.

Azeri Central East Project represents the next stage of development in the ACG Contract Area.

It is expected that the Azeri Central East project will include a residential unit and a platform for extraction and drilling, as well as placing 3 new underwater gas, oil and water lines (along with related underwater infrastructure) between the Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms at a depth of approximately 137 meters, and integrated underwater energy (spare) and telecommunication cables connecting the East Azeri and Azeri Central East platforms.

The contract for developing the ACG field was signed in 1994. On September 14, 2017, a modified and re-developed agreement was signed on joint development and shared distribution of production from the Azeri, Chirag fields and the deepwater part of the Gunashli field (ACG). The new agreement provides for the development of the field until 2050.

The new ACG participating interests are as follows: BP - 30.37 percent; AzACG (SOCAR) - 25 percent; Chevron - 9.57 percent; INPEX - 9.31 percent; Statoil - 7.27 percent; ExxonMobil - 6.79 percent; TP - 5.73 percent; ITOCHU - 3.65 percent; ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) - 2.31 percent.

The Azeri–Chirag–Deepwater Gunashli is a complex of oil fields in the Caspian Sea, about 120 kilometers (75 mi) off the coast of Azerbaijan. It consists of Azeri and Chirag oil fields, and the deepwater portion of the Gunashli oil field. An overall estimated area of the development is 432.4 square kilometers (167.0 sq mi).

It is developed by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, a consortium of international oil companies, and operated by BP on behalf of the consortium. The ACG fields have estimated recoverable reserves of about 5 to 6 billion barrels (790 to 950 million cubic meters) of petroleum.

BP is one of the world's most renowned oil and gas suppliers and has been managing large projects for exploration, development and transportation of oil and gas fields in Azerbaijan since 1992.

BP and SOCAR have long-term cooperation in the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan.

BP Azerbaijan is operator of ACG, Shah Deniz, Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula, Shafag-Asiman and Gobustan fields.