Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.12 / Trend, E. Ismayilov /
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is preparing to move to the next phase of drilling an exploratory well at the Umid marine perspective structure in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
The new well is scheduled to be drilled by late 2010-early 2011.
Exploratory drilling has been carried out at the structure since the 1980-1990s.
Drilling is implemented by SOCAR from the Umid-1 Platform. The platform was built on the basis of the unfinished Chirag-6. It is the largest platform within the program, with a height of 72 meters. The platform is located 15 kilometers from the Bulla-Deniz offshore field at a depth of 58 meters.
This is the first exploratory drilling that SOCAR has held independently over the past 15 years. Umid reserves are estimated at 200 billion cubic meters of gas and 30 million tons of condensate.
Umid is a promising structure through which SOCAR intends to increase its own gas reserves.