SOCAR Studying Opportunity for Independent Development of Offshore Fields

Azerbaijan, Baku, 3 June / corr Trend S.Aliyev / The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is considering opportunity for independent development of huge offshore field, earlier explored by foreign companies.

Possibility of developing Karabakh, Ashrafi and Dan Ulduzu fields is being explored, Khoshbakht Yusifzade, the SOCAR First Vice President for field geology, geophysics and development, told journalists on 3 June during the opening of the Caspian Oil and Gas 2008 exhibition. Earlier, foreign companies were involved in the development of these fields, but considered the reserves economically unreasonable.

"Drilling in these fields can be set up after 2008," Yusifzade said.

On condition of high oil prices at world markets, currently reaching $125-130 per barrel, the development of the fields becomes more efficient as compared to period 10-12 years ago, when foreign companies refused from its further development. Then oil prices were fluctuating between $18 and $25 per barrel.

In 2007 German company Wintershall signed a Mutual Understanding Memorandum with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) on the development of Ashrafi field. However, later Wintershall stated that the development of the field is inefficient without its joining to another prospect - Karabakh field. SOCAR did not accept the German company's proposal on the unification of fields, stating its intention of developing Karabakh field itself without any other assistance.

According to preliminary estimations, the reserves of the Ahsrafi field comprise 35-40 mln tons of oil and 20-25 bln cubic meters of gas.