Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 3 /Trend E.Ismayilov/
British BP is considering proposals submitted by companies wishing to perform as contractors in the construction work in the frame of the second stage of development of Azerbaijani gas condensate field Shah Deniz in the Caspian Sea, the source of oil and gas market told Trend.
The source noted that the process of selecting contractors of construction works in this major project in the Azeri sector of Caspian Sea will be completed by the year end.
"The final decision on the choice of contractors will be announced in early 2013," the source said.
As the source said previously, after BP's decision matter of choice would be agreed with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). According to a preliminary schedule provided for the work, the export of gas in the second stage of the development of Shah Deniz gas condensate field may begin in early April 2017.
According to the schedule, the construction of two platforms, which are provided in the second phase of field development, should be completed before the end of 2015. The platform and the necessary infrastructure must be ready to operate in October 2016.
Plans for the project include construction of two new offshore platforms, connected with each other through the bridge, drilling of 26 subsea wells with two semi-submersible drilling rigs, construction at a depth of 550 m of 500 kilometers of subsea pipelines, the additional export opportunities in Azerbaijan and Georgia, the expansion of Sangachal terminal.
Gas reserves of Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters.
The contract to develop the offshore Shah Deniz field was signed on June 4, 1996. Participants to the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 per cent, Statoil - 25.5 per cent, NICO - 10 per cent, Total - 10 per cent, LukAgip - 10 per cent, TPAO - nine per cent and SOCAR-10 percent.