Status Update: Guneshli gas still burning, rescue operations amped up

Azerbaijan's offshore Guneshli field's gas wells in the Caspian Sea continue to burn, according to Balamirza Agaragimov, Senior Engineer of Azneft, a division of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), who gave the status report in an interview with state-run TV channel AzTV.

The Guneshli field's platform number 10 caught fire on 4 December following damage to an underwater gas pipeline that had been damaged by a storm. Seven casualties have been reported there, and 23 oil workers are still missing.

Azerbaijan's Guneshli produces 14 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Azerbaijan's Trend new agency reports that the country's Emergency Situations Ministry has joined the search for those missing.

Meanwhile, Mr. Agaragimov told Natural Gas Europe on December 11ht that the fire on the oil wells has been extinguished. “On the first day of the accident gas pumping into the oil wells has been suspended. Later the remaining oil kept on burning. Right now fire the continues in four gas wells,” he explained.

He added that 1 million cubic meters/day of gas is extracted on the #10 platform.

Agaragimov said that SOCAR has decided to employ US specialists Boots & Coots International Well Control, adding the company is currently devising a plan 

Earlier, SOCAR engaged Boots & Coots in 2013 to extinguish a bigger fire that lasted over 60 days on the Bulla Deniz gas field.

“They don't plan on extinguishing the fire, but capping the wells to prevent any spill of hydrocarbons into the sea,” explained SOCAR representatives.

Towards that effort, special equipment is being transported to the site of the accident to be installed on the platform. Fire vessels and helicopters from the Ministry of Emergency Situations will join in the effort.

Azneft produced 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas in 10 months of 2015.

-Ilham Shaban