Azerbaijan, Baku, April 10 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
This year, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) plans to begin construction of a new floating drilling rig in accordance with modern requirements and the possibility of its further modernisation, a senior official of SOCAR told reporters on Tuesday.
The Company will have priorities for the use of a new floating drilling rig. "Taking into account oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan and in particular the commitment and intentions of Total to continue drilling at the Absheron field as well as the second phase of the development of Shah Deniz gas condensate field and other works, at least three drilling rigs are needed," said the source.
In this case according to a SOCAR representative, in reviewing possibilities of building new rigs all the features of the infrastructure and prospects for projects in the country should be taken into account.
In particular, at present various options for the possible construction of the rig, contractors of construction and other issues are being studied.
According to the SOCAR representative, depending on the parameters and technical characteristics, the construction of these rigs will cost from $500 million to $1 billion.