Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Azerbaijan’s energy giant SOCAR studies proposals from international oil and gas companies wishing to develop the Umid gas and condensate field and Babak promising structure within a single block in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

The work on the block requires a complex technical development program, subsea development and huge investments. Therefore, SOCAR has decided to attract large companies for working at this block as partners.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters on September 14 that the decrease in world oil prices has to some extent affected the company’s desire to invest in new projects.

“Therefore, we don’t hurry to make a decision. The work on drilling wells and producing gas at Umid field doesn’t stop,” he said. “We have started drilling the fourth well recently.”

Abdullayev earlier said that SOCAR expects offers from 12 major transnational companies on joint development of the Umid-Babak block.

The contract’s form will be decided depending on the offers, since SOCAR has no complex technologies for subsea development.

The daily debit of two wells in the Umid field ranges from 1.1-1.5 million cubic meters of gas.

SOCAR announced the discovery of the Umid field in 2010. The volume of the field’s reserve exceeds 200 billion cubic meters of gas and 40 million tons of condensate, according to the results of drilling the first exploration well and the estimations of SOCAR specialists.

The Umid field is located 75 kilometers from Baku, 40 kilometers away from the coast. The first geophysical work was carried out there in 1953 and was repeated in 1972 in the improved form. Nine wells were drilled there from 1977 to 1992. However, none of them gave any results.

The reserves of Babak perspective structure can amount to 400 billion cubic meters of gas and 80 million tons of condensate, according to preliminary data.

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