BP announces production forecast at ACG in 2019
By Leman Mammadova
The production of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) blocks in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in 2019 is expected to remain approximately at the level of 2018.
This was stated by BP Azerbaijan Vice President Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli in Baku on December 13.
“In 2019, the production at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field is expected to reach the figure of 2018. We will try to maintain production constant,” he said.
Aslanbayli also touched upon the activities of the two platforms - Central Azeri and West Chirag at the ACG. He said that in accordance with the work plan for the next year, their operation is planned to be suspended for maintenance.
There are plans to carry out maintenance work at the Central Azeri platform in the second quarter next year, and at the West Chirag platform in October, he said, adding that the dates may change depending on the progress of the work.
The average daily production at ACG amounted to 588,000 barrels of oil during the three quarters of this year. Over 22 million tons of oil were produced at this block in three quarters alone.
ACG is the largest oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea, covering more than 432 square kilometers. A contract for the development of ACG block of oil and gas fields was signed in 1994 for 30 years. Oil extraction from the field began in November 1997.
The oil produced from the ACG field is exported to the world markets through the Sangachal Terminal, mainly through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the West Stream Pipeline to Supsa.
Azerbaijan’s oil is exported from the country not only in raw form, but also in the form of oil products.
Proven oil reserves of ACG block of oil and gas fields are estimated at 1.2 billion tons, while gas reserves make 350 billion cubic meters.
On September 14, 2017, a modified and re-developed agreement was signed on joint development and shared distribution of production from the Azeri, Chirag fields and the deepwater part of the Gunashli field (ACG). The new agreement provides for the development of the field until 2050.
So far, more than 3 billion barrels of oil has been extracted from the field and about $ 33 billion has been invested in the field.
From early 2001 and until November 1, 2018, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) received $136.782 billion as part of the project to develop the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
The ACG participating interests are as follows: BP - 30.37 percent; AzACG (SOCAR) - 25 percent; Chevron - 9.57 percent; INPEX - 9.31 percent; Statoil - 7.27 percent; ExxonMobil - 6.79 percent; TP - 5.73 percent; ITOCHU - 3.65 percent; ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) - 2.31 percent.
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