BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.25
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Norway’s Equinor continues to work with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR to progress and mature the Karabagh project, including detailing a possible development solution, Equinor told Trend.
“We have no further details at this stage,” said the company.
As for the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara structure, Equinor recalled that it has decided to postpone the drilling of the Aypara prospect due to challenges in operating during the current Covid-19 and overall industry context.
“It is too early to indicate when the well will be spudded. There is no further activity planned in 2020, and an updated timeline will be concluded at a later stage,” said the company.
Drilling of the first appraisal well at Karabakh oil field was started on December 23, 2019. The well was drilled in water depth of 180 meters by the Dada Gorgud semi-submersible drilling rig operated by SOCAR’s Caspian Drilling Company (CDC). The reservoir is at a depth of approximately 3.4 kilometers. Estimated size of the discovered volumes of oil and gas are satisfactory for pursuing commercial development of the Karabakh field.
The Karabakh prospective structure was identified in 1959 as a result of seismic surveys. It was specified in 1984 and its oil and gas reserves were confirmed in 1997-1998 through exploration drilling. The oilfield is located 120 km east of Baku, at a depth of 150-200 meters in the open sea.
The consortium operated by Caspian International Petroleum Company (CIPCO) drilled three exploration wells in the Karabagh PSA signed in 1995: two wells found gas in the southeast portion of the structure and the third well indicated presence of oil in the western part of the structure. In 1999, the PSA was terminated due to the non-commercial discovery.
In May 2018, SOCAR Karabagh and Equinor signed a Risk Service Agreement related to development of Karabagh Oil Field in the Azerbaijan Sector of Caspian Sea. According to the agreement, they hold equal shares.
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and Statoil Azerbaijan (part of the Equinor group) signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara (ADUA) exploration area on May 30, 2018.
The ADUA exploration area is located around 50 kilometers east of Baku, around 14 kilometers to the east of Azerbaijani mainland (Absheron peninsula), and approximately 7 kilometers to the east of Azerbaijan’s Pirallahi and Chilov islands, in water depth varying between 20 and 225 meters.
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