BP Seeks More Azeri Giants
UK major BP is preparing to explore in Azerbaijan this year, hoping to find new giant oil and gas deposits, its president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gary Jones told NGW March 6. “The prospective blocks are the biggest among all of BP's exploration projects worldwide from Brazil to Mexico, Senegal, Mauritania,” he said.
BP is preparing to conduct explorations in Shafag-Asiman and D-230 blocks. The former is expected to contain the biggest gas reserves after Shah Deniz (with 1.2 trillion m3 reserves) in the Caspian Sea, while the latter block is expected to contain oil.
Jones said that block D-230 may contain as much as Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block (with 1.2bn metric tons of oil and 350bn m3 of gas).
During 2019, BP plans to drill three offshore wells; one in Shafag-Asiman and two in Absheron shallow water basin. Another well will also be drilled in the onshore Qobustan field. The 2- and 3-D seismic operations in D-230 blocks will start late March for 45 days, then the results will be evaluated for drilling wells in the future, Jones said, adding no date was set for that.
Next year, the company plans to drill a further two wells in Shafag-Asiman and Absheron shallow water basin.
The BP-operated offshore Shah Deniz and Azeri-Chieag-Guneshli fields (ACG) account for over four fifths of Azerbaijan’s total oil and gas production. Shah Deniz stage 2 is expected to become full operational with 16bn m³/yr output level next year.
The BP-led ACG consortium also signed a 25-yr extension contract in September 2017 to spend $40bn more on ACG by 2050, compared with the $43.5bn already spent since 1994, of which $35bn was capital expenditure. However, US major Chevron plans to leave the project and its American rival ExxonMobil has also reportedly decided to sell its stakes. Both are planning major expansion of their production at home in the Permian Basin, Texas. Jones said that the American companies have announced their intention but have not yet taken any practical steps.
ACG production has been declining since early 2000 due to natural pressure fall. The recovery rate of field is about 50%. “We plan to both maintain production level and increase recovery rate,” he said.
Since 1997, ACG produced 3.5bn barrels of oil and currently its production level stands at about 584,000 b/d.
Currently the block produces 12.5bn m3 gross associated gas, of which 18.8% is sale gas and the rest is re-injected to maintain oil production.