BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.4
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
In 2020, BP spent more than $531 million in operating expenditure and more than $1,817 million in capital expenditure on Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) activities, Trend reports with reference to BP Azerbaijan.
In 2019, the company spent about $567 million in operating expenditure and $1,476 million in capital expenditure.
Despite the challenges and restrictions caused by the pandemic the Azeri Central East (ACE) project remained remarkably resilient during the year along with other bp activities.
The detailed engineering works were substantially completed by the end of the year, and at least 10 major packages were shipped to Baku in the fourth quarter, complimenting the multiple deliveries of plate, piping and other bulk materials shipped earlier in the year.
Fabrication activities on the topsides and drilling facilities for the ACE platform continued at the fabrication yard in Bibi-Heybat. These included the lifting of the cellar deck sections on to the skid way, the placement of the first major items of equipment into position, the ramp-up of piping along with the weather deck panel fabrication, the arrival of the drilling derrick at the yard and the commencement of fabrication and assembly of the drilling modules on site.
At the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deepwater Jackets factory (BDJF) the pin piles were completed, successfully loaded out, driven into the platform location and safely installed at the seabed ready to receive the platform jacket. The jacket fabrication continued with the first sections now out on the skid way. Fabrication activities on the subsea structures also commenced in 2020.
During the year, the project progressed with the offshore installation work associated with the produced water management on the Central Azeri platform and the preparation for work on East Azeri to allow the ACE platform to draw power from the Azeri field optimising power generation across the assets. At the Sangachal terminal the design for the onshore control room was close to completion at the end of 2020 to allow for the planned installation in 2021.
Overall, the engineering and procurement works remain on track to support the first production from the ACE project in 2023, with the larger equipment now moving from the suppliers into Azerbaijan.
BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited is the operator on behalf of the Contractor Parties to the ACG Production Sharing Agreement.
ACG participating interests are: bp (30.37%), SOCAR (25.0%), MOL (replaced Chevron as of 16 April 2020 (9.57%), INPEX (9.31%), Equinor (7.27%), ExxonMobil (6.79%), TPAO (5.73%), ITOCHU (3.65%), ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) (2.31%).
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