Azerbaijan, Baku, April 9 /Trend E.Ismayilov/
The depth of the SDX-07a appraisal well on the gas-condensate field Shah Deniz in the Azerbaijani sector of Caspian Sea is more than 5,000 meters, a source of oil and gas market told Trend on Monday. The work on drilling of the well is implemented in the frame of the second phase of field development.
According to him, despite the fact that much of the work provided in the drilling of this well has been completed, the amount of remaining work is still quite large.
"Two more months is required for the completion of the drilling" the source said. The depth of drilling should be 6300-6400 meters.
As the source told Trend previously, the company BP, which acts as the technical operator of the "Shah Deniz", will complete the drilling of wells by mid-2012. Upon completion of the drilling process will be tested very well and if the results are positive, it will be
conserved.
Two offshore platforms and 20 subsea wells will be installed for the production of an additional 16 billion cubic metres of gas under the Shah Deniz-2 project. Peak production is projected at nine billion cubic metres in the first stage of development. According to
forecasts, gas production can be increased up to 24 billion cubic metres a year in the second stage of development. Reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic metres of gas.
The contract to develop the offshore Shah Deniz field was signed on June 4, 1996. Participants to the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 percent, Statoil - 25.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, LukAgip - 10 percent, TPAO - nine percent, and SOCAR-10 percent.