Azeri SD1 Hits record, SD2 Ramps Up
Azerbaijan’s offshore Shah Deniz gas field’s first phase (SD1) hit a historic record for 1H 2018, averaging 31.5mn m3/d – up by 15% more than 1H 2017 (5bn m3) and beating its previous half-year record by 5%.
“During the installation of SD2’s Bravo platform, some subsea infrastructures of SD1 were re-constructed and that allowed the production to increase,” operator BP told NGW August 21.
SD2 also started production from a single well on July 31 with 1.5mn m3/d flow. The reservoir's final capacity is 16bn m3/yr by 2021, aimed to export 6bn m3/yr to Turkey and the rest of volume to EU.
SD2’s second well should have been operational last week, but it has been postponed. Nevertheless, according to the contract, about 0.5bn m3 of SD2 gas will be delivered to Turkey's Botas in the second half of this year and another 1.5bn m3 in the first half of this year, BP said.
In the framework of SD2, some 14 wells have been drilled, of which 8 wells have completed as of now. SD1 also produces from six wells.
Despite gas production growth, Azerbaijan continues to import gas. Its imports increased by 80% year on year in the first half of 2018 to 1.41bn m3. Statistics obtained by NGW from state-run Socar and BP showed that gross gas production rose by 2.7% to 14.498bn m³ during 1H2018 as more gas was re-injected in order to take advantage of oil prices. Dated Brent crude has been about $70-75/barrel for most of this year. Baku’s oil production increased by 1% to 19.341mn metric tons in the period.