David Woodward, the President of BP Azerbaijan, stated to a news conference 27 October that during the first three quarters of 2006 the shah Deniz project spent $683 million of the $865 million approved 2006 capital expenditure budget, Trend reports.
Appraisal drilling activities in support of additional stages of the Shah Deniz development have continued, with the current SDX-4 well having been successfully sidetracked following a stuck-pipe incident in July and is now drilling in the pre-Fasila formations below the know reservoirs.
Analysis of the data obtained from the well will be used in planning the Stage 2 development of the field. The results will add considerably to our understanding of the field, providing valuable data for assessing further options for development. Well results will be announced once drilling and data evaluation have been completed
The company expects first gas to be delivered in the next few weeks due to some of the well tie backs and pre-drilled well completions taking slightly longer than we expected and plans to ramp up production during the fourth quarter of 2006. Gas will be delivered to the buyers as their own receiving pipelines are tied-in and commissioned.