TPG-500, a self-elevating drilling rig build for gas and condensate extraction in the frames of the first stage of the Shah-Deniz field exploration, will be launched onto sea today, the BP Azerbaijan press-service told Trend.
The installation was initially planned to be launched on April 1, but it had to be postponed due to the bad weather conditions. After the platform will be delivered to the installation point it will pass testing and start- adjusting operations, which are due to be over in the third quarter of this year, the company stated
.
$1, 35bln was spent on the platform construction. The total cost , including the Zikh building site modernization, is $1,6bln. The platform can drill wells at the depth of 7.000 meters and deviation radius of 3.000 meters. Its refining installations are capable of refining up to 28.5 million m2 of gas and 60.000 barrels of condensate per day. TPG-500 will exploit 12 wells in total. 4 of them are already drilled within the frames of advance bore program.
The first gas is expected to be pumped into the South-Caucasus pipeline on September 30, 2006.