BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) has issued updates on development/exploration programs at its two main fields offshore Azerbaijan.
During the first half of the year, the company and its co-venturers spent about $243 million in opex and more than $698 million in capex on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) activities.
Planning has continued for a future development of the field’s non-associated gas based on data obtained from the A22z appraisal well that was completed in April 2023.
The well was drilled into deep reservoirs in ACG’s south flank from the Chirag platform as a sidetrack of an injector well.
Now that commercial discussions have been finalized, the aim is to start drilling an initial production well later this year.
Earlier this year, a new 4D high-definition ocean-bottom node seismic survey started on ACG, focused on the Balakhany and Fasila reservoirs.
The five-year exercise will cover a 740-sq-km area under source and 507-sq-km under receivers, with an estimated overall cost of about $370 million. Seismic acquisition planned for this year has already been completed, with processing of the data underway.
At the Shah Deniz gas-condensate field, two wells have started production this year from Shah Deniz 2’s East North flank wells, in a campaign involving the Istiglal and Heydar Aliyev rigs.
This includes completion of the SDH03 well, the de-completion and completion of the SDH01 well, and the start of de-completion of the SDH02 well by the Istiglal rig, all on the East North flank. Heydar Aliyev has been drilling the SDD05 well on the West Flank.
In total, 21 wells have now been drilled for Shah Deniz 2 comprising five on the North flank, four on the West flank, four on the East South flank, five on the West South flank and three on the East North flank.
bp has also been assessing data obtained in 2023 from the target reservoirs of the SDX-8 exploration well in the Shah Deniz contract area, with the aim of appraising deeper reservoirs beneath the currently producing Shah Deniz layers.
Elsewhere in the Azerbaijani sector, bp has been evaluating the hydrocarbon resource encountered in the SAXO1 well on the offshore Shafag-Asiman Block. Planning continues for future activities.
