BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20
By Nargiz Ismayilova – Trend:
Karabakh field
The Karabakh oil and gas field was discovered in 2000. It is located 130 km east of Baku. The sea depth in the field varies in the range of 250-450 meters.
The initial reserves of the field are estimated at 100 million tons.
The field’s development is handled by Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR). In December 2017, SOCAR and Equinor (former Statoil) signed a contract, which includes main commercial principles and provisions of the risk service contract regarding the Karabakh field.
On May 30, 2018, SOCAR and Equinor signed two risk-service agreements (RSA) regarding the Karabakh field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The agreements envisioned equal distribution of shares between the companies.
In March 2019, the Azerbaijani Caspian Drilling Company Ltd (CDC) and the Norwegian Equinor Azerbaijan Karabakh BV (Equinor) signed a drilling contract.
Under the terms of the agreement, Caspian Drilling Company will drill two wells at the Karabakh field for Equinor.
On Dec. 15, 2019, the Dede Gorgud semi-submersible floating drilling rig was delivered to the Karabakh field, where appraisal drilling will last about two months.
Project status
Preparations for the transportation of the platform support block is ongoing at the Karabakh field.
Based on preliminary data, the Karabakh field may have more oil reserves than gas ones.
A platform can be installed at the field for both oil and gas production. By 2021, it is planned to extract the corresponding products using this platform.
Dan Ulduzu
Dan Ulduzu is the subject of a production sharing agreement between SOCAR (50 percent) and Equinor (50 percent), along with Ashrafi and Aypara structures. This agreement was signed in May 2018.
The seismic exploration was carried out on the structure in 2019.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev approved the agreements signed on May 30, 2018 between the Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR) and the Norwegian Equinor company on July 5, 2018.
The first agreement is a risk-service contract (RSA) for the Karabakh field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, and the second is a production sharing and exploration agreement on the Dan Ulduzu, Ashrafi and Aypara promising structures.
The contract for the development of Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu block of structures, signed in 1997 among SOCAR (20 percent), BP (30 percent), Unocal (25.5 percent), Itochu (20 percent) and Delta HESS (4.5 percent), lost its legal force on March 7, 2000.
Project status
The seismic data on Dan Ulduzu is being interpreted. Afterwards, a decision will be made on the further possible steps.”
Conducting brownfield work on Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms
Carrying out brownfield work on the Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms (work on the sites with the "project based on the existing object" status.
Project status
The final decision on the dates of the work start is expected to be made in August 2020.
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