Baku, Azerbaijan, May 14
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Norway's Statoil and Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR are close to completion of negotiations on engaging the Dede Gorgud floating semi-submersible drilling rig for drilling at the Karabakh field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, a source in the oil and gas market familiar with the current situation told Trend.
"The parties are counting on the early conclusion of negotiations to begin drilling at the field this year. The negotiations are at an active stage and are nearing completion. A final agreement will be reached in the near future," the source said.
Built in 1980, the Dede Gorgud drilling rig can operate at a sea depth of up to 500 meters, while the drilling depth reaches 6,100 meters. Its operator is the Caspian Drilling Company (CDC), 92.44 percent equity of which is owned by SOCAR.
The drilling rig was mothballed at the Baku Shipyard. Earlier, the Dede Gorgud rig conducted drilling operations at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of fields under a contract with BP.
The Karabakh oil and gas field, discovered in 2000, is located 130 km east of Baku. The depth of the sea at the field varies at 250-450 meters. Its initial oil reserves are estimated at 100 million tons.
SOCAR is the field's development operator. The company expects the first output from the field in 2021.
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