Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

BP operating major oil and gas development and exploration projects in Azerbaijan, as well as the world-class Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline, has made public the report on the results of operations in the first quarter of 2013.

The projects BP operates in this region include the supergiant Azeri, Chirag and Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil field, Shah Deniz gas condensate field, the Safag-Asiman production sharing agreement and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil export pipeline.

Earlier it was reported that over $40 billion was invested within the oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan implemented by BP.

Oil and gas fields

According to the report, 2.42 billion cubic meters of gas and 0.63 million tons of condensate (five million barrels) was produced on the Azerbaijani offshore gas condensate field "Shah Deniz" in the first quarter of 2013.

Average daily volume of gas production on the field in the first quarter amounted to approximately 27 million cubic meters, the average daily condensate production stood at 55.3 million barrels.

During the report period, the operating costs of the project amounted to $42 million, and capital cost - $395 million. In 2013, the figures are expected to amount $222 million and $2.27 billion, respectively.

Since the end of 2006 (the start of production on "Shah-Deniz") to the end of the first quarter of 2013, 40 billion cubic meters of gas and 10.7 million tons (85 million barrels) of condensate have been sent to the world markets, the report reads.

The contract to develop the offshore field was signed in 1996. Shareholders of the project are BP and Statoil with 25.5 percent each, NICO, Total, Lukoil and SOCAR with 10 percent each, and TPAO with 9 percent. Reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

In the first quarter of 2013, British BP and its partners extracted 8.06 million tons (59.6 million barrels) of oil on the Azerbaijani block of oil and gas fields Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG).

The average daily oil production on this block in the first quarter was 662,000 barrels.

The volume of operating cost of the project amounted to $198 million and the capital cost -$648 million. In 2013, the figures are expected to amount $2.51 billion and $861 million, respectively.

Equity participation in the contract on ACG is distributed as follows: BP (operator) - 35.78 percent, Chevron - 11.27 percent, Inpex - 10.96 percent, AzACG - 11.65 percent, Statoil - 8.56 percent, Exxon - 8 percent, TPAO - 6.75 percent, Itochu - 4.3 percent, and Hess 2.72 percent. Hess sold its share to Indian ONGC and the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

Export routes

Since June 2006, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline transported 220 million tons of oil. Some 2,140 tankers shipped from the port of Ceyhan, were loaded. In the first quarter, the pipeline exported 7.9 million tons (59.6 million barrels) oil, which was loaded into 79 tankers.

In the first quarter of 2013, the capital cost of the BTC pipeline was $13 million.
In 2013, the figure is planned in the amount of $97 million.

The total length of BТС is 1.768 kilometers including the 443 kilometer section running via Azerbaijan, the 249 kilometer section via Georgia and the 1.076 kilometer via Turkey.
Construction of the pipeline began in April 2003 and it was filled with oil on May 18, 2005.

The shareholders of BTC are BP (30.1 percent), AzBTC (25 percent), Chevron (8.90 percent), Statoil (8.71 percent), TPAO (6.53 percent), Eni (5 percent), Total (5 percent), Itochu (3.40 percent), Inpex (2.50 percent), ConocoPhilips (2.50 percent) and Hess (2.36 percent).

In January-March, the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) transported 962.5 million cubic meters of gas.

The capital cost of the South Caucasus gas pipeline amounted to $2 million. The total capital cost for the South Caucasus gas pipeline for this year is projected at $ 13 million versus $11 million in 2012.

The average daily capacity of the pipeline is 11 million cubic meters, or 67,000 barrels of oil equivalent, according to the report.

The length of Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (South Caucasian gas pipeline) is more than 700 km. The pumping capacity is more than 20 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The gas produced from the Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea is transported via the pipeline. The gas is delivered to Georgia and Turkey. Azerbaijan also purchases gas.

In the first quarter of 2013, 71 million barrels of oil was exported from the Sangachal oil terminal by pipeline and rail.

According to the report, 61 million barrels of the total volume of oil exported from the terminal accounted for the BTC oil, over 8 million barrels - the South Caucasian gas pipeline, 1.4 million barrels by rail, while BTC also pumped 0.5 million barrels of condensate.

During the first quarter, daily volume of gas exports from the terminal hit 27 million cubic meters.