Socar Plans 45% Output Rise (Correction)
(Corrects percentage in first paragraph)
Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company, Socar, plans to increase its gas output by 31% to 10bn m³ by 2020. The vice-president for field development at Socar, Yashar Latifov told NGW that last year the company’s gas output stood at 6.87bn m³, but the volume will increase significantly.
He said that Socar is developing Guneshli oil field’s gas layer as well as Bulla-Deniz and Umid gas fields. Azerbaijan’s total commercial gas output is expected to reach 36bn m³ in 2020. BP-led Shah Deniz stage 1 and 2 (SD1,2) would produce 26bn m³, while Socar’s own projects would produce 10bn m³.
Azerbaijan also plans to add 5bn m³/yr of gas to the output level in late 2021 from Total-led Absheron gas field. Latifov added that Socar's upstream unit Azneft is planning to build an offshore platform, No.18 in the Bulla Deniz field. That gas will be consumed within Azerbaijan, and not head west with Shah Deniz gas to Turkey and the European Union.
Yashar Latifov (Credit: Socar)
The construction will be carried out by another unit of Socar's, Neftgaztikinti. The platform will be designed for the drilling of five wells - one exploratory and four operational.
According to Socar, the platform is planned to produce 2.5mn m³/d of gas and 500 metric tons (mt)/d of condensate. The platform will be installed in a water depth of 21 metres but no date is given for the completion of the new platform.
Earlier, the first vice-president of Socar Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh said the draft plan for the Bulla Deniz development involved five new platforms for drilling 26 wells in 2016-2025. Socar launched the first such platform in May 2016. It is planned to drill one exploratory and three production wells with an output of 500,000 m³/d of gas and 150 mt of condensate.
On August 17, 2013 during drilling of exploration and appraisal well №90 in Bulla Deniz at the depth of 5,868 metres there was a gas blowout and a fire started, which was extinguished after 67 days. However, despite this, Socar discovered large gas deposits at a depth of about 6,000 metres. According to the geologists of Socar, Bulla Deniz reserves are 30bn m³.
Azerbaijani desk