Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Norway's Statoil state company are studying the possibilities of jointly developing the Ashrafi and Karabakh fields in the Caspian Sea, a senior representative of SOCAR told reporters on June 3.
"Currently, the possibility of joint development of these fields is being studied," he said.
The contract for development of the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu block of fields was signed in 1997 between the SOCAR (20 percent), BP (30 percent), Unocal (25.5 percent), Itochu (20 percent) and Delta HESS (4.5 percent) and lost its validity on March 7, 2000.
Around 20-40 million tonnes of hydrocarbon reserves were discovered in the Ashrafi field located to the north of the Absheron archipelago, 105 kilometers north-east of Baku.
The Karabakh oil and gas field, discovered in 2000, is located in 130 kilometers east of Baku. The sea depth at the field varies from 250 meters to 450 meters.
The initial oil reserves of the field are estimated at 100 million tonnes. SOCAR is the operator for developing the field.
Edited by C.N.