SOCAR (State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic) and BP have signed a PSA contract in Baku for the exploration and development of the 'Shafag' and 'Asiman' structures in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, Trend reports.
The contract was signed for a 30-year term. The exploration period lasts 4 years and can be prolonged for 3 more years. On the first stage they plan drilling 2 boreholes. On the second stage they will drill two more holes. Both sides have a 50% share.
Gas estimates are equal to 300-500 billion cubic m.
The 'Shafag' and 'Asiman' structures are located 125 km south-east of Baku. In July 2009 SOCAR and BP signed a memorandum in London. They carried out exploration works on the block, located 650-800 m deep with the reserve 7 000 m deep.
BP is the main foreign oil investor in Azerbaijan, heading the project of developing the 'Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli' field and gas condensation field 'Shakh Deniz'. BP is also the operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Jaykhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines.
