Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan 6 /Trend E.Ismayilov/
Signing of contracts for construction and equipment supply will begin this spring in the frame of creation a new floating drilling rig in Azerbaijan by SOCAR, source in SOCAR told Trend.
Caspian Drilling Company Ltd (CDC), in which SOCAR has a 92.44 percent stake can be the building owner.
The source said that all technical issues within the framework of construction have been resolved and commercial issues are being resolved now.
"Commercial issues are resolved at present, the contract signing will begin after" the source said.
The source noted that the construction of the drilling rig is scheduled to begin in mid-2012.
The source noted previously, the new floating drilling rig will be used primarily to meet the needs of the company in drilling operations. It is possible that there would be no need in creation of a drill club in the construction of a new installation, and work for other companies that operate in the framework of contracts in the Azerbaijani sector of Caspian Sea, will be implemented on the basis of the application.
Accordingly, each company that intends to get a new rig to work would have to submit an application to reserve a time for installation. In turn, SOCAR will provide drill to use in accordance with the "windows" that occur during drilling operations provided for the company.
The construction of a new rig is scheduled to complete by the end of 2014. The works will be implemented by Bos Shelf. A package of equipment, in which about a dozen of companies will be presented, will be the basis for the construction.
Earlier, SOCAR took a policy decision to invest in building a new last generation rig, which will be drill exploratory and development wells in water depths to 1000 meters.
There are many promising structures on the Caspian Sea on which it is necessary to conduct exploratory drilling. We need a new rig that can operate at great depths in order to do it.
Construction of such installation costs up to $500 million. The cost of installing the latest (Heydar Aliyev), which was built in the Caspian Sea, amounted to $250 million according to the head of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullaev.