BP has spudded the first production well from a new platform installed in the Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan, the London-based energy supermajor said on 5 December.
BP, as operator of the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) field development project, said the first production well was drilled from the new Azeri Central East (ACE) platform following the safe completion of all offshore hookup, installation, and commissioning of the ACE topsides unit which sailed away from the Bayil fabrication yard in August 2023.
The company said drilling operations are expected to take around 3 months to reach the well’s total depth of 3188 m.
“We are excited to commence drilling the first platform production well on ACE. This allows us to meet our first oil production target for ACE and deliver it in early 2024,” said Gary Jones, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.
“A great deal of preparation has been made to ensure a safe and robust drilling program using our experience, as well as our innovative approach, automated processes, and advanced technology. We look forward to delivering this first ACE production well safely, efficiently, and on schedule,” he added.
The $6-billion project is the next stage of development of the giant ACG field in the Caspian Sea. ACE is a new 48-slot drilling, production, and quarters platform located in a water depth of 137 m midway between the Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms. In the first half of this year, these two platforms boasted a combined production of 121,000 B/D.
The platform and facilities are designed to process up to 100,000 B/D of oil. The company said the project is expected to produce up to 300 million bbl over its lifetime.
BP holds a 30.37% operator interest share in the ACG production agreement. This agreement, originally signed in 1994, was extended in 2017 to last until 2049. Partners include Socar/AzACG (25%), Chevron (9.57%), Inpex (9.31%), Equinor (7.27%), ExxonMobil (6.79%), TPAO (5.73%), Itochu (3.65%), and ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) (2.31%).
