Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR plans to complete the overhaul process of the production platform in the shallow part of the Gunashli field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in December 2014.

The overhaul process is conducted without restricting the operation of the platform.

"The company is using existing technological equipment on the platform to press ahead with the process," SOCAR said on August 21.

The Gunashli-11 Platform has been operating since 1986.

Gunashli field plays an important role in the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan. The shallow part of the deposit is developed by SOCAR independently but the deep part is developed together with foreign partners as part of the Azeri-Chirag- Gunashli block.

Azerbaijan's energy giant SOCAR, which is keen on expanding operations in the retail oil products market abroad, is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in the domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.

One of the primary obligations set for SOCAR in the State Program for the Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector (2005-2015) is to increase oil and gas production and discover new oil and gas fields.

SOCAR plans to drill 20 new wells in the shallow part of the Gunashli field. Alongside with the drilling of new wells, the repair works of the old wells are being implemented by the company.

SOCAR produced around 4.2 million tons of oil from Azerbaijan's onshore and offshore fields in the firs half of 2014, which was equal to 4.15 million tons in the same period of 2013.

In 2013, the energy company produced over 8.31 million tons of oil from onshore and offshore fields.

In total, some 43.48 million tons of oil was produced in Azerbaijan in 2013.