Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 29
By Seymur Aliyev - Trend:
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil and gas fields block produced 24.2 million metric tons of oil in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in January-September 2014.
Currently, the daily oil production at ACG exceeds 650,000 barrels, the regional president of BP for Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia Gordon Birrell told reporters Oct.29.
BP is the operator of the ACG development.
He said that the port of Ceyhan has sent 2,690 oil tankers from the ACG so far. Oil is delivered to Ceyhan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
For the first nine months of 2014, SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) received 2 billion cubic meters of gas produced at the ACG.
Some of the associated gas from ACG is transferred to SOCAR for free, and the other part is injected back into the reservoir to maintain pressure, said Birrell.
He reminded that BP maintains facilities in Azerbaijan in accordance with international safety standards and they require periodic maintenance and shut downs.
"These turnarounds are planned one year in advance under our annual plan and budget, which is agreed with the government," Birrell said. "The effect of the turnaround is built into a production forecast."
Birrell said that major turnaround this year is on Central Azeri platform, and BP plans to slowly run down the Central Azeri on October 31.
Further speaking about the turnaround, Birrell said during the turnaround BP will be replacing some equipment that is worn out with new one.
"That ensures the safety and reliability of the facility," he said.
Birrell then said that BP will fully round back up by the second of December..
When asked about the amounts of produced oil, Birrell said that currently, the platform produces about 160,000 barrels of oil on a daily basis.
ACG is a field which requires constant investment, Birrell said.
He said that if the new investment is spent on the construction of new platforms, it will enhance the effectiveness of the development of the block.
The contract for the development of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli large offshore field, with proven oil reserve of nearly 1 billion metric tons, was signed in 1994.
Shares in the contract for development of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of fields are distributed as follows: BP (operator in Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli) - 35.78 percent, Chevron - 11.27 percent, Inpex - 10.96 percent, AzACG - 11.65 percent, Statoil - 8.56 percent, Exxon - 8 percent, TPAO - 6.75 percent, Itochu - 4.3 percent and ONGC - 2.72 percent.
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