Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
British BP, an operator developing the block of oil and gas fields Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) and Shah Deniz gas condensate field, is pleased with the results of the operating activity in Azerbaijan in 2014, BP president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gordon Birrell told reporters Nov. 28.
He said that great success has been achieved in the area of labor protection, safety operations, environmental protection, as well as reducing the flared gas volume and reservoir water management.
"We are also pleased with the production results," he said. "As we are facing the end of the year, we are more confident that this year's indices will be higher than planned."
Birrell did not disclose the exact volume.
"As for the maintenance work scheduled for 2015, of course, these operations are planned to be held," he said. "But the working plan and the budget for both the ACG and Shah Deniz are being discussed."
"The entire maintenance work is part of our operating activity," he said. "The old equipment is replaced. The relevant systems are being examined. The necessary work is conducted for the platforms, equipment and facilities to meet the safety requirements."
Earlier, BP launched the "Central Azeri" platform which was stopped for scheduled preventive maintenance.
The platform will work to full capacity in the coming days.
The contract for the development of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli large offshore field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, 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.
Birrell does not exclude the possibility of using the new generation drilling rig at ACG. It is being constructed in Azerbaijan for the needs of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan). However, this issue has not yet been agreed upon.
"The rig has not been constructed yet," he said. "We have no plans regarding a new rig."
The contract for the development of the offshore field Shah Deniz, which has proven reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, was signed June 4, 1996.
The share distribution among the agreement parties (after SOCAR's and BP's acquisition of Statoil's share in the project) is as follows: BP (operator) - 28.8 percent, Statoil - 15.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, Lukoil - 10 percent, TPAO - nine percent, and SOCAR - 16.7 percent.