Azerbaijan, Baku, July 4 / Trend, E. Ismailov /
In the first half of 2013, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) carried out 83,334 meters of drilling operations (excluding joint ventures and operating companies) compared to 72,355 meters in the same period of last year, a statement released by SOCAR on Thursday said.
According to the report, 78,098 meters out of all drilling carried out from January to June was in development and 5,236 meters was in exploration.
In 2012, SOCAR carried out more than 136.4 thousand meters of drilling (excluding joint ventures and operating companies) compared to 147.3 thousand meters in 2011.
SOCAR includes the production association "Azerneft" (the companies for production of oil and gas on land and sea), "Azerkimya" (chemical industry enterprises), and "Azeriqaz" (gas distribution).
In cooperation with foreign partners, SOCAR is participating in major projects such as the development of oil and gas fields "Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli" and "Shah Deniz" gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea.