Azernews.Az

By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

Over two billion tons of oil and around 900 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been industrially produced in Azerbaijan so far, President of Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev said at the Energy Forward conference organized in the capital recently.

SOCAR president also noted that some oil deposits in the country, such as Bibi Heybat, Balakhani and Surakhani, have been under development for many years, despite the fact they have already been depleted.

"In spite of the high water content, these deposits still preserved oil contained layers," Abdullayev stated.

It should be noted that on the sidelines of the conference, Baker Hughes and SOCAR signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and implement the concept of lean well execution as a part of exploration and production operations.

The purpose of the project is to determine and exploit opportunities in a bid to boost productivity in new wells. The introduction of Baker Hughes’ advanced technological solutions using local resources and capabilities will contribute to the development of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industry in the whole.

High on the agenda of the conference was also alternative energy resources.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Energy Minister Elnur Soltanov said “we have alternative energy sources, and we need to pay serious attention to the development of this area.”

The deputy minister said that although there are currently no light oil deposits in Azerbaijan, alternative energy sources do exist and the absence of light oil deposits requires the use of advanced and innovative technologies.

BP Regional President for Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Gary Jones said that according to forecasts, by 2040, global energy demand will grow by 30 percent, and this figure should be satisfied.

In his opinion, due to threat posed by the global climate changes, companies must work together to tackle climate-related challenges.

BP Vice President for Wells Michael Zanghi also stressed the importance of advanced technologies.

As he underlined, in order to improve safety indicators, different approaches, modern methodologies and cutting-edge technologies are essential.

Zanghi said that it is necessary to reduce the impact of the human factor in this context and create safer design work.

This requires technology, and this is taking place - there is a component of cooperation, an element of the development of technological capabilities, as well as productive analysis, the vice president noted.

Note that it is first time Azerbaijan hosts the Energy Forward conference organized by Baker Hughes, which is participated by technical experts from around the world, to discuss the main trends that significantly affect productivity, efficiency and safety in the oil and gas sector.

Energy Forward is a remarkable technology event, which brings together over 250 leaders and key partners from leading oil and gas companies in the world to share best practices and results at the international level and clarify opportunities in engineering, science and information, demonstrating digital transformation and innovation for the further development of the oil and gas sector in the Caspian region.

Baker Hughes is the third largest oil and gas service company in the world. The services the company provides contains drilling, reserves assessment, field development and much more.

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