SOCAR, Equinor to start installation of new oil platform
By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and Norwegian Equinor plan to begin the installation of a new production platform at the Karabakh field within the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in July, SOCAR said in a message.
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev met with First Vice-President of Equinor ASA, Carrie Lockhart, on June 14 in Baku and discussed the current level of cooperation between the companies, and, in particular, the status of work for preparation of the Karabakh field for development.
During the meeting, it was noted that drilling rig, which will be used for exploration, and the new platform will be inspected in July. Installation of the platform in the sea will begin with the end of \ last adjustments. The parties also noted the need to work in this direction in an expeditious manner and in accordance with the schedule.
It is noteworthy that on May 31, 2018, SOCAR and Equinor signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) type contract in Baku to explore and develop the block of prospective structures Dan -Ulduzu-Ashrafi-Aypara and Risk Service Contract to develop the Karabakh field.
The Karabakh oil and gas field, discovered in 2000, is located 130 kilometers to the east of Baku. The sea depth in the field varies in the range of 250-450 meters. The initial oil reserves of the field are estimated at 100 million tons.
The recoverable reserves of the Karabakh field are estimated at 16 million tons of oil and 28 billion cubic meters of gas. The sea depth in the area of the field is 180 meters.
About 60 percent of work on the new offshore platform for the Karabakh field has been completed. The first product from the Karabakh field is expected in 2020-2021.
It should be reminded that Norway's Statoil oil and gas group changed its name to Equinor on May 16, 2018.
The company owns 7.27 percent of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) bloc development project in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea and 8.71 percent in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), the main export route for ACG oil.
SOCAR is one of the world's 50 largest oil companies. Established in 1992, SOCAR aimed at managing Azerbaijan's oil resources on the basis of a single state policy, to improve the management structure of the oil industry and to ensure the development of fuel and energy complex.
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Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1
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