BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Since the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and Shah Deniz fields began production, approximately 679.8 million metric tons of oil (including gas condensate) and 529.6 billion cubic meters of gas have been produced up to July 1 of this year.
This was announced in a report by the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan.
According to the ministry, over the reporting period, 625.6 million metric tons of oil and 251.1 billion cubic meters of gas were produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field, while approximately 54.2 million metric tons of condensate and 278.5 billion cubic meters of gas were produced from the Shah Deniz field.
The ACG project, operated by bp, is being implemented with the participation of SOCAR, MOL, INPEX, ExxonMobil, TPAO, ITOCHU, and ONGC Videsh.
The produced oil was transported via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline and the Western Export Pipeline through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye.
Based on the agreement “on the joint development of the ‘Azeri,’ 'Chirag,‘ and the deep section of the ‘Guneshli’ fields,” signed on September 20, 1994, production at the ACG began.
Preparations are also underway for a new phase in the development of the “Azeri-Chirag-Gunesli” (ACG) field. bp’s regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, Gio Cristofoli, told reporters during Baku Energy Week that production from a new oil reservoir discovered in the deep layers of the ACG is scheduled to begin in September of this year.
He noted that the company has begun drilling a production well to determine the volume of the newly discovered oil reserves.
“Although the presence of oil in this area was initially suspected, the exact volume of reserves was unknown. Therefore, a well was drilled to begin production from the oil reservoir and determine the actual figures. This well will also provide more accurate information about the size and potential of the oil reservoir,” he said.
Gio Cristofoli stated that production is scheduled to begin in September, and this process will play a key role in determining the volume of the newly discovered oil reserves.
The bp representative added that the data obtained from drilling the well will be crucial for shaping the field’s future development strategy.
The Shah Deniz field is located on the deepwater shelf of the Caspian Sea, 70 kilometers southeast of Baku, and covers an area of more than 140 square kilometers. Discovered in 1999, the field is estimated to contain approximately 1 trillion cubic meters of gas and 2 billion barrels of condensate, according to initial estimates.
Development of the field proceeded in phases. In 2003, the final investment decision for the first phase was made, and commercial production began in 2006. In 2013, the “Shah Deniz 2” project was approved, and production began in 2018.
The project is currently in its next phase, the compressor station project. This $2.9 billion project aims to increase production from the field’s low-pressure gas reserves and is expected to deliver an additional 50 billion cubic meters of gas.
Meanwhile, the Shah Deniz project has made a significant contribution to the development of local industrial capacity and the training of skilled personnel in Azerbaijan. The project has created thousands of jobs, and local construction and service companies have been integrated into international energy projects.
