BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) started the Dredging of Western Access Channel as part of the Marine Access Channels project, the company told Trend.
On Apr. 7, 2021, NCOC informed the public about the Marine access channels project, which became quite controversial with some experts criticizing these plans. The company planned to conduct an open round-table in respect of the Marine Access Channels Project for the purpose of discussing the issues of interest with stakeholders.
The company official said that due to the decline of the Caspian Sea level and associated shallowing of the sea in the area of Kashagan field offshore facilities, the ability of NCOC’s marine vessels to operate has been impacted with the potential of a full stop of marine operations.
"This project secures emergency exit for the staff on duties to safe their life in event of a safety critical emergency evacuation, safe operation of unmanned islands, delivering execution of Turn Around scope scheduled in 2022 through providing sufficient water depth to bring in Living Quoter Barges and other bulk materials, plus continued operation till well after 2024," the official said.
Thus, NCOC initiated the Marine Access Channels project which will dredge access channels to enable marine displacement vessels to operate and support the operations of the Kashagan field.
"NCOC is committed to conducting its operations in a manner that minimizes impact on the environment. Thus the project impact area will total about 29 km2, which is as low as 0.036% of the total North Caspian area. The project involves the construction of underwater channels around five Kashagan islands to ensure the access is feasible for the operating fleet. The channel’s length will be totaling 56km by cutting till ~2m into the seabed," the company said.
The project will deploy the best available technologies, the official added.
"This project secures emergency exit for the staff on duties to safe their life in event of a safety critical emergency evacuation, safe operation of unmanned islands, delivering execution of Turn Around scope scheduled in 2022 through providing sufficient water depth to bring in Living Quoter Barges and other bulk materials, plus continued operation till well after 2024," the official said.
The official added that the notification to Construction was obtained on Apr 14, 2021, the pre-dredging survey at Western Access Channel was started on Jun 8, 2021, and on Jun 10, 2021, the dredging of Western Access Channel began.