New gas condensate reserves have been discovered in Shafag-Asiman block in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR said in its Wednesday press release.
“First gas-condensate reserves were found at a depth of 7,189 meters in an exploration well drilled on the Shafag-Asiman block in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea,” SOCAR said in the statement, adding that “to define the exact volume of hydrocarbon reserves, the parties of the project are going to work out a technical plan for drilling of an additional lateral well in the direction of the structure’s arch.”
Exploration at the Shafag-Asiman block is underway as part of the SOCAR-BP venture. In accordance with the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the well was drilled by BP at a depth of 623 meters, using the Heydar Aliyev semi-submersible rig operated by the SOCAR's subsidiary Caspian Drilling Company (CDC). The drilling started on January 11, 2020.
Shafag-Asiman field is located 125 km south-east of Baku. The block covers an area of 1,100 square meters. The field was discovered in 1961.
On October 7, 2010, SOCAR and BP signed the PSA on joint exploration and development of the Shafag-Asiman offshore block for a period of 30 years. Under the agreement, BP will be the operator with 50% interest while SOCAR will hold the remaining 50% equity.