BP said Wednesday it has made a major gas discovery in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Field.
It said the SDX-04 appraisal and exploration well, some 70
kilometres south east of Baku, discovered a new high pressure reservoir
in a deeper structure below the currently producing reservoir.
The well was drilled to a Caspian-record depth of more than 7,300 metres in the south western part of Shah Deniz.
"The exploration discovery represents a potentially
significant find. There will be appraisal to fully delineate the new
structure in the next few years," the company said.
In addition, during the appraisal phase, the well
encountered gas condensate in the currently producing horizons
extending the field to the south.
Test flows were at the maximum capacity of the on-board
equipment of 35 million standard cubic feet a day (1 million standard
cubic meters a day).
Results confirm sufficient gas at Shah Deniz for a second
stage of development. Although further work is required to define this
second phase it will likely be similar or larger than stage 1 -- 8.6
bcma (billion cubic metres a year).
Bill Schrader, President of BP Azerbaijan, said : "Such a
deep, high pressure reservoir will require new technologies that are
presently under development in the industry."
The parties to the Shah Deniz production sharing agreement
(PSA) are: BP (operator - 25,5%), StatoilHydro (25,5%), the State Oil
Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR - 10%), LUKOil (10%), NICO (10%),
Total (10%), and TPAO (9%).