Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 18
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
Four wells, within Stage 2 of the development of Azerbaijan’s largest gas field Shah Deniz, were drilled and completed in the first half of 2017, says a BP report on its activity in Azerbaijan.
BP is the Shah Deniz field’s operator.
In the first half of 2017, drilling operations on the SDA11 well were resumed at the Shah Deniz Alpha platform and these operations are currently ongoing. It should be noted that, the platform was stopped for two-week maintenance on Aug. 14.
The Istiglal drilling rig delivered the fourth (SDC01) well completion on the North Flank of the field in the second quarter of 2017. The rig then was moved to the SDD01 well location on the West Flank of the field to perform four completion operations.
The Maersk Explorer rig drilled the lower section of SDF01 well and was moved to SDF02 well, where it is currently drilling the lower section of the well.
The above two rigs have already drilled 13 wells since the Final Investment Decision (FID) and completed four of these on the North Flank in preparation for the commencement of Shah Deniz Stage 2 and subsequent production ramp up. Drilling operations will continue to deliver all wells required to reach the planned plateau level.
As part of the Shah Deniz 2 project, gas production will increase from 9 to 25 billion cubic meters per year. The produced gas will be exported to Turkey and the European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines.
A contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field's reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.
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