Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.22
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has allocated $339.5 million for the new generation rig construction since the beginning of this project in Azerbaijan, said the statement posted Oct.21 on the official website of the fund.
The official exchange rate for October 22 is 0,7843 AZN / USD.
The cost of the new generation rig construction project in Azerbaijan is $1.116 billion.
The State Oil Fund owns 90 percent stake in Azerbaijan Rigs Ltd., created for the construction of the new platform. The remaining 10 percent of shares in the company are owned by SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan).
"This year, the fund will allocate $363.5 million for the construction of a new rig, 123.9 million AZN of which were allocated during 9 months," the statement said.
The first drilling rig of the new generation will be built for SOCAR's needs.
The operator of the drilling rig will be the Caspian Drilling Company (CDC) where a 92.44 per cent share is owned by SOCAR. Singapore firm Keppel FELS Limited is chosen as the plant construction contractor. In June 2013, CDC signed an agreement with this company for the construction work.
The new rig will be designed for drilling wells at depths up to 8,000 metres and at a water depth of 1,000 metres. The rig is planned to be constructed in 2016.
In particular, the rig will be used for drilling on prospective structures and fields in Azerbaijan, such as the Umid field and the promising structures Babek, Karabakh, Ashrafi and others.
Azerbaijan must build four new floating drilling rigs taking into account the implementation of big projects in the country.
SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million.
The assets of SOFAZ as of October 1, 2014 have grown by 3.98 percent compared to early 2014 ($35.877 billion) and stood at $37.305 billion
Based on SOFAZ's regulations, its funds may be used for the construction and reconstruction of strategically important infrastructure facilities, as well as solving important national problems.