Subsea7 wins Azeri Central East contracts
By Leman Mammadova
Subsea7, a global leading company in the delivery of offshore projects and services, has secured Azeri Central East (ACE) contracts as next stage development of the Azeri-Chirag-Deep-Water Gunashli (ACG) block of deposits in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
BP Exploration has awarded Subsea7 with two contracts between $50 million and $150 million for the ACE platform construction project.
The contract envisages engineering and fabrication of subsea structures, engineering, transport and installation of spools, the launch of a 16,200-metric-ton jacket and the float-over of an 18,500-metric-ton topside, according to Subsea7.
ACE project is centred on a new 48-slot production, drilling and quarters platform located mid-way between the existing Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms in a water depth of approximately 140 meters. The project will also include new infield pipelines to transfer oil and gas from the ACE platform to the existing ACG Phase 2 oil and gas export pipelines for transportation to the onshore Sangachal Terminal.
In addition, there will be a water injection pipeline installed between the East Azeri and ACE platforms to supply injection water from the Central Azeri compression and water injection platform to the ACE facilities.
BOS Shelf will be responsible for the fabrication, logistics and equipment support. Engineering work will be carried out from the Subsea7 office in France, and offshore field operations are expected in 2021–2022.
“This project reflects long-standing relationship and cooperation with BP Exploration, and is also based on the Subsea7’s Life of Field activities in Azerbaijan,” said Gilles Lafaye, Subsea 7’s Vice President Africa Region.
In his words, the company intends to expand its presence in the Azerbaijani market due to the safe and reliable solutions for its offshore energy developments.
Earlier, Subsea 7 has signed a substantial contract with BP Exploration for the provision of subsea inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) services on both the ACG and Shah Deniz fields, in 2018.
ACE project targets to achieve daily production at the peak of up to 100,000 barrels of oil and 350,000 cubic feet of gas.
Recently, Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) signed contracts worth $1.7 billion for design and construction of facilities, including engineering, fabrication and construction, project management and other services, within the framework of the ACE project. The contracts have been concluded following the project final investment decision in April 2019.
As of April 19, 2019, the shareholders of the ACG field block development project signed a final investment decision on the ACE project. The $6 billion development includes a new offshore platform and facilities designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to achieve first production in 2023 and produce up to 300 million barrels over its lifetime.
Construction activities, which will commence this year and run through mid-2022, will take place in-country utilizing local resources. It is expected that at peak, construction activities will create up to 8,000 jobs.
ACG is the largest oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea, covering more than 432 square kilometers. 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.
The ACG participating interests are as follows: BP - 30.37 percent; AzACG (SOCAR) - 25 percent; Chevron - 9.57 percent; INPEX - 9.31 percent; Equinor - 7.27 percent; ExxonMobil - 6.79 percent; TPAO - 5.73 percent; ITOCHU - 3.65 percent; ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) - 2.31 percent.
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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888
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