Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 1
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Work on the expansion and modernization of the Baku Deep Water Jacket Factory named after Heydar Aliyev of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) will be completed by early 2017, a source on the oil and gas market of Azerbaijan told Trend Sept.30.
He said that the decision on modernization and expansion was made in connection with the construction work of the supporting blocks for two platforms, piles and underwater structures at the factory within the framework of the second phase of the development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
"It is planned to spend up to $400 million on the modernization of the plant," said the source. "Upon completion of all works, it will turn into a real logistics center. In particular, a new 1.7-kilometer-long port with all infrastructures necessary to service ships will be built."
The source went on to add that the need for modernization of the plant is also associated with the presence of a large number of prospective oil and gas structures located at great depths in Azerbaijan.
"Modernization will make it possible to significantly expand production capacity of the plant, which is extremely important for the development of deposits with deep bedding," he said. "Currently, the work is underway on construction of a new warehouse, training center, new special site for production of deep water structures, as well as a platform for work on the application of protective coatings."
The Deep Water Jacket Factory named after Heydar Aliyev is managed by the Bos Shelf joint venture, which is a subsidiary of SOCAR.
The total production capacity of the factory runs to 60,000 tons of metal construction per year.
In April 1984, the factory reached full capacity. The first supporting block of the deepwater platform was launched from stocks of the factory and was commissioned in August 1985.
Edited by CN
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