ACG project shareholders sign PSA addendum on extract deep gas
BAKU. Sept 23 (Interfax) - The shareholders of the project to develop the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block on Friday signed a second addendum to the September 14, 2017 production sharing agreement (PSA) on the project to enable production of gas from deep reservoirs at the bock, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) reported.
Under the addendum, which was signed in Baku, the companies will move ahead with the exploration, appraisal, development and production of natural gas resources at the Azeri and Chirag fields and the deep water portion of the Gunashli field. The addendum is effective until the end of the existing ACG PSA in 2049.
The participating interests of the parties in the deep gas project are the same as in the existing ACG PSA.
BP's executive vice president of production and operations, Gordon Birrell said in the press release that there is "tremendous potential in unlocking ACG's gas resources."
It was reported earlier that BP, the operator of the ACG project, expects to produce the first deep gas at the block in early 2025.
ACG's deep gas reserves are forecast at 300 billion cubic meters. Production will initially total about 0.5 bcm per year.
The contract to develop the Azeri and Chirag fields and the deep water portion of the Gunashli field was signed in 1994 and was initially set to expire in 2024, but a new contract to develop the block, effective until 2049, was signed in September 2017.
Under the new contract, BP has a 30.37% stake in the project and SOCAR holds 25.0%. The other parties are Hungary's MOL with 9.57%, Norway's Equinor with 7.27%, ExxonMobil (SPB) with 6.79%, Turkey's TPAO with 5.73%, Japan's Inpex and Itochu with respectively 9.31% and 3.65%, and India's ONGC Videsh with 2.31%.
In December 2023, Equinor signed an agreement to sell its stake in ACG to SOCAR. The deal will be considered closed upon the fulfillment of a number of obligations by the parties. In July 2024, ONGC Videsh Limited said it had signed a final agreement with Equinor to buy a 0.615% interest in ACG. This deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
