Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 29
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
It is planned to commission three new wells at the largest Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea in the first half of 2016, a source on the oil and gas market of Azerbaijan told Trend Dec.29.
The source said that the plan of drilling operations for the next year has not been approved yet, but three wells, the drilling of which began this year, will be completed in the first half of 2016.
"It is planned to commission SDA07 and SDA08 producing wells, the work over which is carried out from the Shah Deniz Alpha platform, as well as the SDD04 well, the work over which is carried out from the Heydar Aliyev platform within the framework of pre-drilling on the second stage of field development," the source said.
After completion of the modernization of the Istiglal drilling rig, which is under repair at the Caspian Shipyard construction site, next summer it will return for drilling of the SDG03 well, the source said.
"This will make it possible to increase the number of wells on the Shah Deniz at least twice in 2016," said the source. "However, the program of drilling operations for the next year, which is to be approved, will be much wider."
Some 7.2 billion cubic meters of gas and 1.66 million tons of condensate were produced at the Shah Deniz field during the first three quarters of 2015.
As part of the implementation of the Shah Deniz project, the annual gas production volume will increase from 9 billion cubic meters (within the first phase) by additional 16 billion cubic meters in the second phase.
As part of the second stage of the field's development, gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus gas pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines.
The reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. The contract to develop the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed June 4, 1996.
The shareholders in the contract are: BP, operator (28.8 percent), AzSD (10 percent), SGC Upstream (6.7 percent), Petronas (15.5 percent), Lukoil (10 percent), NIOC (10 percent) and TPAO (19 percent).
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