Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) Oil Field, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan

The ACG (Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli) field lies some 120km off the coast of Azerbaijan in 120m of water and contains 5.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Overall investment will reach $10 billion, including $3 billion for the BTC export pipeline.

The field is operated by BP 34.1% on behalf of Socar 10.3%, Lukoil 10%, Unocal 10%, Statoil 8.6%, Exxon Mobil 8%, Turkish Petroleum 6.8%, Devon 5.6%, Itochu 3.9% and Delta Hess 2.7%. The production sharing agreement was signed in September 1994.

Production commenced in 1997 with the Chirag Early Oil Project (EOP), a single offshore platform, producing over 130,000b/d. The field will reach the end of its productive life by 2024.

Crude comes ashore by pipeline to the Sangachal terminal south of Baku. Most is carried in the 850km western export pipeline which has a daily capacity of 140,000 barrels (peak 160,000) to the Georgian port of Supsa on the Black Sea. Some of the oil from Sangachal is also exported via a northern pipeline to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Tankers are used to ship the crude from Supsa and Novorossiysk. Up to 2006, Chirag has produced 326 million barrels.

CENTRAL AZERI DEVELOPMENT

Production from Central Azeri (CA) field began in February 2005 under Phase 1 of the development. This comprised two platforms built at the Amec-Tekfen-Azfen (ATA) yard, one for production and the other for compression and to provide water injection services to the Central, West and East Azeri platforms.

Output from Central Azeri totalled 93,000 barrels per day in 2005 from eight pre-drilled wells, rising to 240,000 barrels. Total capacity for the platform is 420,000b/d.

A second development phase covering the East and West Azeri involves one platform on each field.

WEST AZERI DEVELOPMENT

West Azeri (WA) came on stream in 118m of water in December 2005 from three predrilled wells. The WA facilities include a 48-slot Production, Drilling and Quarters (PDQ) platform and a 30in oil pipeline connecting to the expanded onshore Sangachal terminal.

Associated gas from WA will flow via subsea pipelines to a CA compression and water injection platform for reinjection for pressure maintenance or to be used as fuel. Surplus gas will be exported to the Sangachal terminal.

EAST AZERI DEVELOPMENT

East Azeri (EA) is due to start production in 2007, by which time the field will produce more than 800,000b/d. The Dada Gorgud completed the eight-well pre-drilling programme in Dec 2005. These will be tied back to the platform once it is installed offshore.

The EA Topsides construction is underway at the Baku Deepwater Jackets Factory (BDJF) yard, with all of the modules and the drilling derrick installed onto the integrated deck. The EA jacket fabrication at the BDJF yard is substantially complete and has been loaded onto the STB-1 transportation barge.

GUNASHLI FIELD DEVELOPMENT

The third and final stage covers the deepwater section of the Gunashli field. Production is due to begin in 2008-09 with production plateauing at around one million b/d in 2010.

Work on the deepwater Gunashli Drilling, Utilities and Quarters (DUQ) platform topsides and jacket is underway, with the drilling modules being fabricated in Holland. Fabrication of the Phase 3 production, compression, water injection and utilities platform (PCWU) jacket and topsides began at the ATA yard in the third quarter of 2005.

These facilities will inject over 400,000 barrels of water per day into the Gunashli reservoir through six subsea wells drilled from two subsea drilling centres approximately 5km from the Deepwater Gunashli platform.

OIL AND GAS EXPORT

The new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is due to come on stream in the first half of 2006, running from the Sangachal terminal via Georgia to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Oil from Central Azeri will travel through this system, with Chirag early production continuing to use the pipeline to Supsa.

By 2006, 18 subsea pipelines totalling over 850km (of the 21 pipelines totalling 950km) were laid using the Israfil Huseynov barge.

The SOCAR-owned dynamically positioned diving vessel Tofik Ismailov was used for installation.