The Oil & Gas Year Azerbaijan 2015 published
The second edition of the most comprehensive publication on
Azerbaijan’s energy industry, The Oil & Gas Year Azerbaijan 2015,
was launched at the Fairmont Hotel on February 16, 2015.
The report, published by The Oil & Gas Year, was produced in
partnership with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic
(SOCAR) and the Caspian Centre for Energy and Environment. This
year’s edition celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Contract of
the Century.
Elshad Nasirov, SOCAR’s vice president for investments and
marketing delivered the keynote address at the launch event, which
was followed by the year’s awards ceremony. Commenting on the
progress made in Azerbaijan’s energy industry over the past year,
he addressed the major projects further connecting Azerbaijan to
the global energy community. Expressing his support to The Oil &
Gas Year Azerbaijan 2015, he added, “The Oil & Gas Year team have
acted with the highest standards and produced the best resource for
our oil and gas industry...this book is not for [those in
attendance] but for the international community to be aware of what
we are trying to achieve.”
At the ceremony, Ikhtiyar Akhundov, general director of BOS Shelf
was honoured with the Man of the Year. Leading the largest
fabrication yard in Azerbaijan, general manager of the BOS Shelf
Yard – the historical Baku Deep Water Jacket Factory – Ikhtiyar
Akhundov has effectively managed to keep the yard involved in all
the major projects in Azerbaijan, such as the Chirag Oil Project
and Shah Deniz phase one.
In order to fulfil its responsibilities for the Shah Deniz phase
two project – where BOS Shelf has the responsibility of all the
fabrication of offshore structures and marine support base services
– and future offshore subsea developments, BOS Shelf will undergo a
major strategic upgrade that will make the yard one of the most
developed in the Caspian region. A training facility will be
developed for the training of welders, fitters and riggers,
developing 250 new welding procedures for the first time in
Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, in order to cater for Shah Deniz and future subsea
projects, BOS Shelf will build a special subsea facility, coating
facility, new warehouse and new quays. Perhaps the most exciting
visionary project of the yard is its push for becoming a logistic
centre for servicing offshore projects, through the development of
a $300 million-400 million, 1.7-kilometre quay with the necessary
facilities for servicing vessels including those for bunkering,
fuelling, water storage and mud storage.
Saipem-BOS Shelf-Star Gulf consortium was presented with the
Contract of the Year award. In April 2014, the Saipem-BOS
Shelf-Star Gulf signed a master agreement with BP for the
fabrication, transportation and installation of the offshore
facilities for the Shah Deniz phase two gas development project.
Inside this master agreement, the consortium also signed two
call-off agreements, a $750 million-contract for the construction
of more than 45,000 tons of jackets, piles and subsea structures
and a $1.8-billion contract for offshore transportation and
installation of the jackets, piles, topsides and subsea
infrastructure, laying export and in-field pipelines and diving
services.
BP was presented with the Upstream Project of the Year award for
the Shah Deniz phase two development. On December 17, 2013 the Shah
Deniz Consortium led by BP announced the final investment decision
for the stage 2 development of the Shah Deniz gas-condensate field.
Shah Deniz will be the first fully subsea development in the
Caspian Sea, demanding the drilling and completion of 26 subsea
wells and the construction of two bridge-linked platforms. The
upstream development together with the expansion of the South
Caucasus Pipeline to transport the 16 bcm (565 bcf) per year of gas
from phase two will cost around $28 billion, creating around 15,000
jobs in Azerbaijan alone.
The launch and awards ceremony was sponsored by SOCAR-AQS and
Fairmont Hotel Baku.
The Oil & Gas Year Azerbaijan 2015 provides an in-depth analysis of
the primary hydrocarbons projects of Azerbaijan, throughout the
supply chain. In The Oil & Gas Year Azerbaijan 2015, Minister Natiq
Aliyev says: “Azerbaijan fully supports the implementation of
energy projects in the region for the creation of new effective
transport corridors. The Southern Gas Corridor is crucial for the
economic prosperity, energy security and political independence of
southeastern Europe.”
The Oil & Gas Year is a series of executive reports produced on
more than 30 countries. The Oil & Gas Year’s global circulation is
audited by BPA Worldwide. It has an international readership of
69,000 readers in 101 countries.