Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

Some 1.1 billion tons of oil and 713 billion cubic meters of gas have been produced from the offshore fields located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, SOCAR’s Vice President for Field Development Yashar Latifov said on October 16.

“In addition, volume of onshore production totaled 979 million tons of oil and 139 billion cubic meters of gas,” he said.

Yashar Latifov made the remarks during the SPE’s 6th Annual Caspian Technical Conference on "Digital Transformation: Enabling the Future", held on October 16, in Baku.

Latifov noted that presently, 28 offshore oil and gas fields have been discovered, 19 of which are under development. “As for onshore deposits, 53 oil and gas fields have been discovered so far, 40 of which are currently in operation.”

He further added that currently, there are 570 active wells in the Azerbaijani Oil Rocks. Noting that 340 kilometers of the field’s territory are used, Latifov pointed out that there are 58 active sites and 14 productive horizons.

“Over the period of activity, 175 million tons of oil have been produced at Oil Rocks, and now the recovery percentage is 50 percent. As many as 10 million tons reserves remain. Geological reserves also amount to 10 million tons,” he said.

The Oil Rocks was discovered in 1949. The first oil platform in Azerbaijan, the Oil Rocks was also the first operating offshore oil platform in the world. Intensive development began in 1950. The first oil tanker was launched from Oil Rocks in 1951. An industrial settlement 100 miles off the coast of Baku, the Oil Rocks is a complete town on the Caspian Sea.

Referring to the conference "Digital Transformation: Enabling the Future", Latifov noted that in modern conditions in processes such as exploration and production, there is a high need for various solutions, including the most advanced digital technologies.

He further spoke about SOCAR's achievements on the use of modern information technologies in the company’s daily activities.

John Stephenson, BP’s Vice President of Production for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, noted the importance of holding a conference in terms of the exchange of experience between industry professionals, engineers, experts, students, etc.

Stephenson talked about the use of digital technology in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Shah Deniz fields, operated by the company.

He emphasized that the digitalization process is important in order to respond to the challenges typical of oil production in a timely manner. “The operation processes on oil platforms indicate that we need to operate on a global scale, applying new trends in our actions to develop new promising wells and monitor them.”

Referring to a 2017 report, he noted that the digitalization transformation is the potential to generate more than $ 1.6 trillion through the use of this transformation in the oil and gas industry.

Stephenson said that the integrated management of the Shah Deniz field will use the right management measures. “Logistic difficulties encountered on our way will be prevented through the use of new technological processes.”

“We are talking about using the latest technologies developed by scientists. The theme of the conference is relevant, since it is already necessary to begin cooperation with important partners and competitors,” he added.

Denis LeMarchal, Managing Director at TOTAL E&P Azerbaijan, stressed that despite the increasing use of alternative and renewable energy sources, oil and gas are still the main sources of energy.

Touching upon problems and risks in the oil and gas industry, LeMarchal spoke about the modern technologies used by the company in terms of reducing the risks of field exploitation.

Over the past few years, the use of new technologies has transformed the oil and gas industry. New digital approaches have been introduced to simplify a number of operational processes, reduce person-hours, increase equipment reliability and safety.

As part of the theme “Digital Transformation: Enabling the Future,” the conference will discuss the impact of digital technologies on the oil and gas industry, as well as how this will affect current and future digital trends and applications.

The conference, which includes three keynote panel sessions, namely “Past, Present, and Future”; “Sustainability, Growth and Profit” and “New Generation Talent and Human Factors”, will last until October 18.

SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) provides its services to more than 156,000 specialists involved in the extraction and development of energy resources in 154 countries of the world.

Its mission is to collect, disseminate and exchange technical knowledge on the exploration, production and development of oil and gas resources and related technologies that bring public benefit, as well as providing professionals with opportunities to enhance their technical and professional competencies.

SPE’s 5th Annual Caspian Technical Conference was held in Kazakhstan in 2018.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

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