Ayazli Gas Field, Black Sea, Turkey

The Ayazli gas field is located in the Black Sea, offshore Turkey. It was discovered in 2004 and produces through two wells. Turkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi is the operator of the field and holds the majority stake (51%) in the field.

Stratic Energy acquired a 12.25% stake in January 2005. The company held the stake until it sold its entire Turkish businesses to a group of Turkish companies in May 2010. The stake was sold as part of the Stratic Energy's restructuring plan to regain financial strength following the international economic crisis.

Toreador Turkey, which was acquired by Tiway Oil in October 2009, owns the remaining 36.75% stake.

Ayazli field development

The development of the Ayazli gas field started in 2004 as part of the South Akcakoca Sub Basin Development project in Turkey. The field came onstream in the first phase of the Sub Basin development project.

Two more fields, Akkaya and East Ayazli, were developed under the South Akcakoca Sub Basin Development project. Ayazli was the last to be developed among the three.

Ayazli exploration

The exploration of the Ayazli field started with the drilling of its first well Ayazli-1. The exploratory well is located in an Eocene-age Kusuri sandstone formation in the South Akcakoca Sub Basin, approximately five miles offshore. The well was spudded in July 2004.

Ayazli-1 discovered the presence of gas at a depth of 2,122-3,171ft. Initial tests on the well recorded a flow rate of 15mcf of gas per day. The average flowing wellhead pressure was kept at 824lb per square inch.

Another exploration well is being drilled at the Bati Ayazli prospect located near the Ayazli field. The well was spudded in 2009 and is expected to be tied back to the Ayazli platform if it finds gas within the targeted depth.

Drilling at Ayazli

Three wells were drilled at Ayazli. The first well was the Ayazli-1 exploratory well, which was drilled using the jack-up rig Prometeu to a total depth of 6,600ft. The water depth was approximately 250ft. Toreador was the operator of the well. Stratic Energy funded 25% of the drilling costs, with the remaining 75% costs borne by Toreador.

Following the discovery by the well, two more wells, Ayazli-2A and Ayazli-3A, were drilled. These were damaged in a marine accident in October 2005 due to a vessel owned by Micoperi Srl. The damaged wells were suspended and re-drilled.

Prometeu drilling rig

The Prometeu jack-up drilling rig is owned by Grup Servicii Petroliere, a Romania-based offshore drilling, engineering and technical consultancy.

The rig was built in 1984 and underwent a major upgrade in 2003. Under the Malta flag, it can drill to a maximum depth of 20,000ft.

Ayazli platform

The Ayazli platform was fabricated and assembled in 2007 and put into production in March 2008 as Ayazli-2A and Ayazli-3A started production.

The two production wells were connected to the pipeline. The gas produced from the platform is transported to the Cayagzi Natural Gas Process Facility. A tripod was installed at Ayazli in 2007. The deck was completed by September 2007 and was lifted onto the tripod by a barge.

Ayazli-2A and Ayazli-3A were tied back to the platform and production commenced in 2008.

Ayazli production

The Ayazli field was expected to produce ten to 15 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, based on the initial flow rates, however, production fell below expectation.

In 2009 the field's daily average gas production from the field was 7.3mscf. Production was on a declining trend during the year.

Pipeline

Gas produced from the Ayazli field was carried by a pipeline laid near the field in the fourth quarter of 2006.

The pipeline runs from Ayazli to the shore, through East Ayazli, and has a tie-in line from Akkaya.

With a capacity of 75mcf of gas per day, the pipeline also carries gas from the Dogu Ayazli and Akkaya fields, which are located near the main Ayazli field.