By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 15 -- BP Group LLC, operator for the 10-company consortium Azerbaijan International Operating Co., began oil production Jan. 13 from Central Azeri (CA) field, part of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) complex in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.
Giant ACG, 100 km east of Baku, has reserves of 5.4 billion bbl of oil and is planned as a 30-year development and production project (OGJ Online, Sept. 24, 2004).
CA production, which began from the first of 10 predrilled production wells in 128 m of water, is expected to average 93,000 b/d of oil this year, with total 2005 CA production forecast at 35 million bbl. Other predrilled wells are being brought online.
The CA facilities include a 48-slot production, drilling, and quarters (PDQ) platform, a 30-in. oil pipeline to the expanded onshore Sangachal terminal and a 28-in. gas pipeline to the Sangachal gas processing facilities. The development is designed to process 420,000 b/d of oil.
In addition to the PDQ, BP in the third quarter will install a compression and water injection platform in CA, bridge-linked to the PDQ to create a major offshore complex encompassing accommodation, drilling, production, processing, compression, and reinjection facilities.
Processed oil from Sangachal initially will be transported from Sangachal to market via existing export routes and later through the new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline when it becomes operational later this year. CA gas will be exported from Sangachal via a newly built gas export pipeline into Azerbaijan's gas system for domestic use.
ACG development phases
ACG is being developed in several phases: Chirag has been producing since 1997, now followed by Phase I of Azeri. Phase II Azeri production, to come on stream through two platforms, includes West Azeri slated for 2006 and East Azeri for 2007(OGJ Online, Sept. 18, 2002).
ACG Phase III involves development of the deepwater Gunashli reservoir, now sanctioned and expected to begin production in 2008. Plateau production in 2009 is expected to surpass 1.1 million b/d.
BP holds 34.1% of the ACG endeavor. Other consortium participants are Unocal Corp. 10.3%; State Oil Co. of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) 10%; Tokyo-based Inpex Corp. 10%; Statoil ASA 8.6%; ExxonMobil Corp. 8%; Turkish Oil Corp., i.e., Turkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi (TPAO) 6.8%; Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, 5.6%; Japan's Itochu Corp. 3.9%; and Amerada Hess Corp. 2.7%.