Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 6 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
Construction of a new semi-submersible drilling rig (SSDR) in Azerbaijan will be completed by mid-2016, Farid Akhundov, CEO of Caspian Drilling Company Ltd (CDC), which will be the operator of the new facility, told Trend
According to him, tender procedure was completed for selecting a contractor to carry out the construction of the new installation. One company was selected as a result of the tender, the name of which was not mentioned as a contract with the company has not yet been signed.
"Now we need to hold negotiations and sign a contract with that company. If the contract is signed on favorable terms for the Azerbaijani side, the construction of the new facility could be launched in February of next year," Akhundov said.
According to him, the company's name has not been announced, since the other companies who participated in the tender still have a chance to present their final proposals before the signing of the contract.
The new rig will be used to meet the needs of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan), which owns 92.44 per cent stake in CDC. In particular, the installation will be used for drilling in prospective structures and fields in Azerbaijan, such as Umid mine, Babak, Karabakh, Ashrafi prospective structures and others.
The new drilling rig will be designed to drill wells up to 8000 meters deep at a water depth of 1000 meters. According to tender proposals, construction of the drilling rig will take 3.5 years.
"The new sixth generation ultra modern drilling rig will be designed to ensure security during the drilling of high pressure wells. The installation will be constructed with consideration for possible future modernization," Akhundov said.
At present, there is a need for construction of four new drilling rigs in Azerbaijan. In particular, one will be built for the needs of SOCAR, a second is necessary for the development of the Absheron field. Another two units are needed for projects in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields, the second development stage of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field. There is also talks of a prospective structure being built for Shafag Asiman where exploration drilling is necessary.
CDC has been engaged in all maritime PSA-projects in Azerbaijan, including the opening of the Shah Deniz field, where the company was the project operator's (The BP Azerbaijan Company's) main contractor. The company has extensive experience in drilling offshore fields; in particular, it has been actively involved in the drilling operations on the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and the Shah Deniz fields. The company is the operator of two semi-submersible drilling rigs Dede Gorgud and Istiqlal.