Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.19
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Norway’s Equinor will start 2D-3D seismic survey at Azerbaijan’s Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara structures in March 2019, Trend reports citing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for 2D-3D seismic survey in the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara (ADUA) exploration area.
This document presents the results of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken for the 2 and 3- dimensional (2D and 3D) marine seismic acquisition survey program, proposed by Statoil Azerbaijan in the the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara (ADUA) exploration area in Azerbaijan.
The 2D-3D seismic survey is expected to start mid-march 2019 (subject to vessel availability) and will have an approximate duration of 42 to 45 days.
“The proposed 2D and 3D seismic exploration survey is tentatively scheduled to begin mid-March 2019 (depending on vessel availability). Depending on the equipment configuration and the weather conditions, the expected duration of the survey is approximately 42-45 days of acquisition (8-9 days for 2D and 34-36 days for the 3D program), running an uninterrupted schedule of 24 hours a day and 7 days per week. A reasonable amount of weather standby and technical downtime has been included in the time estimate, but not the mobilization time which is expected to be 4-7 days. The order of the 2D acquisition and 3D acquisition will be decided once vessel availability is confirmed, taking into account technical, logistical and environmental considerations to ensure minimal impact on the environment,” reads the document.
President of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and Statoil Azerbaijan (part of the Equinor group) signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara (ADUA) exploration area on the 30th of May 2018.
The ADUA exploration area is located around 50 kilometres east of Baku, around 14 kilometers to the east of Azerbaijan mainland (Absheron peninsula), and approximately 7 kilometers to the east of Pirallahi Island and Chilov Island in water depths varying between 20 and 225 meters.
As per the PSA, Statoil Azerbaijan will be the operator of these activities and thus responsible for the planning and execution of the 2D-3D seismic survey, which will comprise a minimum of approximately 500 full fold km2 of 3D seismic data, and a minimum of approximately 800 full fold km2 of 2D seismic data.
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