Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

The contracts are expected to be signed with the constructers on the second stage of development of the offshore gas condensate field "Shah Deniz" in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in the first quarter of 2014.

A source in the oil and gas market told Trend that the completion of the tender procedure for construction work under the Shah Deniz-2project will be in January 2014, which will be the basis for the signing of contracts with the major contractors.

" After determining contractors, they will start preparation for the beginning of construction work," the source said.

Under the project, there will be constructed two new offshore platforms, connected to each other by a bridge, 26 underwater wells will be drilled with the help of two semi-submersible drilling rigs; 500 kilometers of underwater pipelines at a depth of 550 meters will be constructed, additional opportunities for export in Azerbaijan and Georgia and expansion of the Sangachal terminal will be ensured.

The contract to develop the Shah Deniz field was signed in June 1996. Shah Deniz participating interests are: BP (operator - 25.5%), Statoil (25.5%), SOCAR (10%), LUKOIL (10%), NICO (10%), Total (10%), and TPAO (9%).

Gas reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters. It is predicted that during Phase 2 gas production could be brought to 24 billion cubic meters a year.

Azerbaijan, which is interested in diversifying export sources, is seen as a key player in the energy supply and security of Eurasia. The country's Shah Deniz field has proved to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey as well as Europe.

The Shah Deniz consortium made a decision in favor of TAP to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe in late June. The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline will bring an initial 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas a year across Albania and Greece, and into Italy. First gas is expected in 2019.