Azerbaijan’s Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) deepwater offshore project in the Caspian Sea has produced its first commercial nonassociated gas as operator BP advances a strategy to keep the 30-year-old oil cash cow producing into the future by adding a gas hub to the development.
The initial well, drilled from the West Chirag platform, is a first step in unlocking ACG’s estimated recoverable gas reserves of 4 Tcf (with a potential upside to 6 Tcf) given that, besides production, the well is delivering reservoir and flow data needed to map full-field gas development, BP said in a 1 June press release.
“ACG has a long and successful history, and, now, nearly 3 decades into oil production, the field continues to hold potential to deliver value for the nation and its investors as it starts this new chapter,” said Gio Cristofoli, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.
Becoming an Integrated Oil and Gas Asset
“With the launch of its gas journey alongside oil, ACG is now uniquely positioned as an integrated oil and gas asset, leading the regional industry and contributing to Azerbaijan’s plans to increase energy supplies to Europe while supporting the country’s energy transition efforts,” he added.
ACG’s first commercial production came from the initial producer well drilled last year into two priority natural gas reservoirs—the shallower Qirmaki Upper Sand and the deeper Qirmaki Lower Sand—both beneath the producing oil reservoirs.
The well confirmed the presence of gas resources in the Qirmaki Upper Sand reservoir and encountered high‑pressure gas in the Qirmaki Lower Sand reservoir, which will be the initial focus of well and reservoir testing, BP said.
Gas and condensate produced from the well will be directed to the Sangachal Terminal via the existing ACG infrastructure through the integration of oil and gas development systems, enabling the efficient use of existing offshore facilities.
BP operates ACG with co‑venturers Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, Hungary’s MOL, Japan’s INPEX, ExxonMobil, Turkey’s TPAO and India’s ONGC Videsh.
ACG’s production sharing agreement (PSA) was amended in September 2024 to enable exploration, appraisal, development, and production from nonassociated gas reservoirs found in multiple geological formations beneath and above the field’s currently producing oil reservoirs, BP said.
The addendum is effective until the end of the existing ACG PSA in 2049.