Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Norway’s Equinor company plans to direct 15-20 percent of its investments in new energy solutions, the company told Trend.
“Equinor expects that around 15-20 percent of our investments could be directed towards new energy solutions in 2030, assuming we can access and mature profitable projects,” said the company.
The company said it considers opportunities for renewable energy projects globally.
Further, answering the current status of the project for development of Karabakh field, the company said there are no updates on the status of the Karabakh field at this time.
On May 30, 2018, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and Norwegian Equinor inked two agreements. The first agreement is a risk-service agreement on the Karabakh field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, while the second is a production sharing and exploration agreement on the Dan Ulduzu, Ashrafi and Aypara promising structures.
The agreements envisage a 50/50 share distribution.
The Karabakh oil and gas field, discovered in 2000, is located 130 kilometers to the east of Baku. The sea depth in the field varies in the range of 250-450 meters. The initial oil reserves of the field are estimated at 100 million tons.
The recoverable reserves of the Karabakh field are estimated at 16 million tons of oil and 28 billion cubic meters of gas. The sea depth in the area of the field is 180 meters.
SOCAR operates Karabakh field’s development. An exploration well on the Karabakh field is planned to be drilled in 2018. The company expects to receive the first reserves from the field in 2021.
The contract for developing Ashrafi – Dan Ulduzu block of structures, signed in 1997 between SOCAR (20 percent), BP (30 percent), Unocal (25.5 percent), Itochu (20 percent) and Delta HESS (4.5 percent), lost validity on March 7, 2000. Hydrocarbon reserves in the amount of 20-40 million tons were discovered at the Ashrafi field.
Initial oil reserves of the Karabakh oil and gas field, discovered in 2000, amount to 100 million tons. SOCAR operates Karabakh field’s development.
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