Oil & gas news

BP DISCUSSING EIA

On Thursday BP held public discussions of Phase 1 of the full-field development program of the Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli fields and Stage 1 of the Shah-Daniz projects, as well as their environmental, social and economic impact on the country's development. The discussions were held in Garadagh district of Baku.

The parties mainly focused on pollution of the Caspian and ecological impact of contractual operations. Representatives of the government and non-governmental organizations joined the debate.

It was announced that a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment of the projects would be prepared in December and cover offshore facilities, pipelines between fields and those to the Sangachal terminal, and export oil and gas pipelines.

BP will resume public hearings in Sangachal on Friday, according to the company's manager on ecological issues Faig Asgarov.

2 PLATFORMS TO BE MOUNTED IN CENTRAL AZERI

Phase 1 of the full-field development program of the Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli fields will cover the central part of Azeri. 2 platforms will be installed at the development stage, according to the head of the Phase 1 project George Siler.

The platform legs will be manufactured by the "ShelfProjectStroi" unit. The drilling platform will be installed in central portion of Azeri field before the end of 2003 and drill a total of 48 wells.

The full-field development program consists of 3 phases.

RAMCO ENERGY RELINQUISHES MURADKHANLI CONTRACT

Ramco Energy plc (Ramco) has announced that it has agreed with SOCAR to relinquish its PSA Contract Rehabilitation Area covering the Muradkhanli, Jafarli and Zardab Fields onshore Azerbaijan. With effect from June 22, 2001, Ramco's operating company MOC has transferred to SOCAR all responsibilities and liabilities for Contract Rehabilitation Area field operations. Under the terms of the agreement, Ramco made a termination payment of $250,000 to SOCAR, and in addition SOCAR will re-employ all local field operations staff.

6 WELLS TO BE DRILLED ON SHAH-DANIZ

6 wells will be drilled on Shah-Daniz field during the first stage of the development program. The wells will be drilled in 350 meters of water using the TPG-560 jack-up, according to the head of the stage 1 of Shah-Daniz project Jeff Vine.

He said the TPG-560 legs would be brought from abroad and assembled in Baku. Mr. Vine added that this would be the first drilling rig of its kind in the Caspian.

BP started using such rigs in the North Sea 5 years ago.

According to Mr. Vine, 26-inch gas and 12-inch condensate pipelines would be built to connect the wells to an onshore terminal. The facilities will be put into service in August 2004, he said.

The Shah-Daniz contract is owned in the following percentages: BP 25.5%, SOCAR 10%, TotalFinaElf 10%, OIEC 10%, Statoil 25.5%, LukAgip 10%, and TPAO 9%.

EXPANSION OF SANGACHAL TERMINAL TO END IN 2004

The expansion of the Sangachal terminal will start in late 2001 and complete in mid-2004, the BP manager for "Shah-Daniz" and Sangachal expansion projects Mike Brown told Azernews Friday.

According to him, equipment will start arriving at the terminal in November-December, while construction operations are expected to start in 2002 following the approval of EIA. After the construction work, scheduled to take two and a half years, the terminal will be able to export both oil and gas. Besides, additional storage tanks for condensate will be built.

Expansion of the terminal is intended to boost the accommodation, storage and export capacities of oil and gas after the full-field development of Azeri-Chirag and deepwater Gunashli fields.

DRILLING ON AZERI TO START IN LATE 2001

Production drilling is expected to commence in central Azeri field later this year as part of the Full-Field Development program of the Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli fields. The drilling will complete in late 2003, head of the BP Phase 1 project George Siler told journalists Friday.

According to him, a total of 48 wells are to be drilled, of which 47 production wells and one for drilling cuttings. 9 wells will be drilled off "Dada Gorgud" and "Istiglal" drilling rigs prior to the installation of the drilling platform at the site. This will enable BP to start production shortly afterwards and produce over 10 million tons of oil a year after 2003. The 48 wells will cover the area of 5 km in the radius.

BP (operator) holds a 34.4% stake in the ACG contract, SOCAR 10%, Lukoil 10%, Unocal 10.4%, ExxonMobil 8%, Statoil 8.56%, TPAO 6.75%, Devon Energy 4.81%, Delta Hess 3.75%, and Itochu 3.92%.

DRILLING OF FIRST WELL ON ABSHERON TO COMPLETE MID-JULY

Drilling of the first exploratory well on "Absheron" prospect will complete in mid-July, according to a source from "Chevron", contract operator. Earlier, the completion of the drilling for scheduled for late June. The drilling has been underway for more than 6 months.

The reason for the delay is that the well has a complex geological structure and its designed depth is 6,700 meters. At present, the well has reached the mark of 6,500 meters. Drilling is being carried out off "Istiglal", the biggest rig in the Caspian.

SOCAR holds a 50% stake in the contract, Chevron 30% and TotalFinaElf 20%.

JUNE OIL OUTPUT PLAN OVER-FULFILLED, UNLIKE GAS

In June 2001, SOCAR produced 745,500 tons of oil with the plan of 731,100 tons, or 102% of the plan, according to a SOCAR source. Both off- and on-shore plans have been fulfilled, with 611,100 tons produced off-shore (100.3%) and 134,500 tons on-shore (110.2%).

The June gas production plan has not been fulfilled, as 384,700,000 cubic meters were produced instead of the planned 396,700,000 (97%).

366,000,000 cubic meters were produced offshore (96.6%) and 18,700,000 (105.1%) onshore.

The AIOC produced 76,800,000 cubic meters with the plan of 81,000,000 (94.8%).

Azernews

AssA-Irada