Azerbaijan Prepares New Fields
Azerbaijan is preparing to develop several new gas fields, including Absheron, Umid, Babek and Bulla Deniz, the first vice president of Socar Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh told NGW in an interview. He said Socar would increase gas output “significantly” during the next few years.
Yusifzadeh said that a new gas layer in Bulla Deniz gas field that was discovered in 2013 would be developed with five new platforms, one of which is already complete, and rig 12 is being constructed to drill five wells. The project would add 2.5mn m³/d of gas and 500 metric tons/d of gas condensate to the country’s production.
“And a new platform will be manufactured and installed at the Umid gas field as well in 2017 to produce further 3mn m³/d of gas from six new wells. Currently 1.4mn m³/d of gas come from Umid’s three wells.
Yusifzadeh said that the Karabagh, Dan Ulduzu and Afshari fields also each contain 20-30bn m³ of reserves in shallow waters and their development is on the agenda.
The first well at Total-operated Absheron gas field also will start this year and production of 4.3mn m³/d of gas is expected by 2019. Azerbaijan’s parliament has been advised to approve a new licence for the Umid and Babek offshore gas-condensate fields. Umid holds 200bn m³ of reserves and Babek has twice as much.
Touching upon Azerbaijan’s sale gas production falling slightly in 1Q 2017, Yusifzadeh said that the total for the year would be higher than last year’s total.
According to him the sale gas output in first quarter stood at 4.79bn m³, about 50mn m³ less than 1Q 2016. That earlier quarter saw a drop of 7.9% year-on-year and the total for the whole of 2016 was down by 3.9% on 2015.
Azerbaijan's output, by source (bn m³)
|
Output |
1Q 2017 |
Y/Y change (%) |
% of total |
|
Shah Deniz 1 |
2.45 |
9.2 |
51.1 |
|
Socar-operated fields |
1.07 |
- 13.8 |
22.3 |
|
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli |
1.09 |
57 |
22.8 |
|
Others |
0.18 |
27 |
3.8 |
|
Total |
4.79 |
-1.03 |
100 |
Source: Socar, Statistics Committee
The statistics indicate that the amount of commercial associated gas delivered from Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil fields to Socar rose 400mn m³ in 1Q 2017, meaning less gas re-injection to these oil fields. Yusifzadeh said that last year about 0.5bn m³ more associated gas was re-injected to these fields, to keep oil output at 650,000 b/d.
He added that the oil price in 1Q 2017 was above $20/b more than 1Q 2016. Despite Azerbaijan’s falling oil output, Azerbaijan’s oil revenues increased.
The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Sofaz) told NGW that the profit from ACG oil output in 1Q 2017 was $1.62bn, up 43% on $1.137bn in the same period of 2016. The value for the whole years of 2016 and 2015 was $5.1bn and $7.26bn respectively.
Azerbaijan also continued to import Turkmen gas based on gas swap operations, started in October 2016. Iran receives gas from Turkmenistan and delivers the same amount to Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. During 1Q 2017, Iran delivered 208.9mn m³ to Azerbaijan and 117.8mn m³ to Nakhchivan.
Ilham Shaban