On Tuesday, the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field development in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea produced its three billionth barrel of oil since the start of production from the Chirag platform in 1997.
Located 100 km (62 mi) east of Baku, ACG is a complex of six production platforms: Chirag-1, Central Azeri, West Azeri, East Azeri, Deepwater Gunashli, West Chirag; and two process, gas compression, water injection and utilities platforms.
The ACG field has been developed in several phases: The Chirag platform started producing in 1997 as part of the Early Oil Project. This was followed by Phase 1, the Azeri Project, during which production started from the Central Azeri platform in early 2005. Phase 2 included West Azeri and East Azeri, starting production in December 2005 and in late 2006, respectively. The next ACG development phase - Phase 3 Deepwater Gunashli - started up in April 2008.
The last phase in the series to date was the Chirag Oil Project, which was sanctioned in 2010. As part of this phase, the West Chirag platform was installed between the existing Chirag and Deepwater Gunashli platforms. First oil from the platform was achieved on Jan. 28, 2014.
Partners in the ACG development are BP (operator – 35.7828%), SOCAR (11.6461%), Chevron (11.2729%), INPEX (10.9644%), Statoil (8.5633%), ExxonMobil (8.0006%), TPAO (6.7500%), ITOCHU (4.2986 %), and ONGC (2.7213%).
Gordon Birrell, BP regional president for Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey, said: "This is a significant milestone for both BP and for Azerbaijan and it is thanks to huge efforts by all individuals and teams involved. I would like to thank everybody who made this day happen."
