Oil & gas news

WORK ON INAM SUSPENDED AGAIN

Drilling operations on the first exploration well on Inam prospect were again suspended last week, a source from BP, project operator, told Azernews Monday. The decision was made due to a high well pressure.

Specialists are currently engaged in appraisal work, the results of which will be divulged this week. Only afterwards will it be decided whether or not to keep on drilling operations.

High well pressure in the well reportedly led to the death of two oil-workers and injury of four others in February, which led to the suspension of operations on the well till June.

SOCAR holds a 50% stake in the Inam PSA, BP has 25% and Shell 25%.

TPAO BOASTS THREE-FOLD RECOVERY OF INVESTMENT

Turkish TPAO has grossed $300 million from marketing its Contract of the Century oil having invested only $100 million in the business. The company got its first profit oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli contract in 1998.

The company is to invest a total of $500 million as part of its 6.75% interest stake in the contract.

In addition to the mentioned PSA, TPAO holds a 9% stake in the Shah-Daniz contract, 10% in the Araz-Alov-Sharg deal, 5% in Kurdashi, and 5.2% in the BTC main export pipeline project. Under these projects, the company is to invest $2.2 billion in Azerbaijan's oil and gas industry.

GEORGIA TO OFFER NEW TARIFFS?

Georgia's national security council meeting of August 7 instructed a special commission to consider establishing preferential tariffs for the transit of Azeri Shah-Daniz gas from Baku through Tbilisi to Erzurum, according to Georgian "Prime-News" agency.

The report says there are several project-related issues that have yet to be agreed upon. The commission will also identify Georgia's revenues from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan MEP project.

Observers believe that the remaining disagreement on some matters concerning the gas pipeline is one of the reasons for the delaying visit to Azerbaijan by the Georgian President Shevardnadze.

Until recently, both parties had been maintaining that all problems had been ironed out and that the postponement of the visit had to do with the murder of a well-known Georgian journalist.

AZERI FUGRO TO SURVEY ATASHGAH, YANAN TAVA, MUGAN-DANIZ

Joint Venture Azeri Furgo is expected to start geo-technical research work on Atashgah, Yanan Tava and Mugan-Daniz prospects on August 15. The research, scheduled to last till August 25, is expected to pinpoint the location of exploration wells to be drilled on Atashgah and Yanan Tava.

According to a source from JAOC, project operator, this is going to be the second stage of the work on the prospects, as the first was conducted from July 15 till 25.

BAKU-SUPSA THROUGHPUT CAPACITY HIKED

Reconstruction of the Baku-Supsa export pipeline, which started in late 2000 and was intended to increase the conduit's throughput capacity, has completed. After building up operations carried out on pumping stations all along the pipeline route, the capacity has been brought to 130,000 barrels per day.

Until recently, the pipeline's daily capacity was 117,000 barrels per day. From now onwards, Baku-Supsa will be capable of transporting 6 million tons of oil per year.

Since being commissioned in 1999, the pipeline has exported to international markets over 13 million tons of AIOC-produced oil.

SALYAN OIL TO CARRY OUT EIA ON KURSANGI-GARABAGLI

Salyan Oil operating company is expected to hold a public meeting in Salyan on the Environmental Impact Assessment of the full-field development of onshore Kursangi-Garabagli fields, a source from the company told AssA-Irada Tuesday. The draft EIA is available for public at the Akhundov Library in Baku.

Salyan Oil has already held two EIAs on two exploratory wells on Garabagli.

SOCAR holds a 50% stake in the project, Delta Hess has 20% and EBRD 30%. As a mater of fact, the Bank reclaimed its interest after Frontera Resources failed to repay the bank's loan.

OFFSHORE OIL PRODUCTION 4% UP

In July 2001, all 6 offshore oil and gas production units hiked production 4% to last year's July. The "28 May" unit raised output by 3.4% producing 505,085 tons of oil, "Neft Dashlari" by 4.8% producing 69,617 tons. All offshore units except "Bulla-Daniz" have over-fulfilled the July projections.

TOTALFINAELF SPONSORING SOCAR STAFF TRAINING

The French-Belgian TotalFinaElf is sponsoring the training of two SOCAR specialists in Paris and has allotted $28,000 for the purpose. The two have been selected from among 10 applicants, SOCAR told Azernews Friday.

The specialists are expected to leave for France in late August.