BP expects final investment decision on Shah Deniz compressor platform by 2026
BAKU. Feb 18 (Interfax) - BP plc expects the final investment decision (FID) on the Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project at the Shah Deniz field to be reached by the end of 2025, BP-Azerbaijan chief spokesperson Tamam Bayatli said on Tuesday at a public hearing on the environmental impact assessment.
Bayatli had previously said that the final investment decision on the project was expected this year.
"We have prepared a report on the environmental and social impact assessment (EIA) of the SDC platform construction project. The document will be open for public discussion for 60 days, and then, taking into account the entered comments, it will be submitted to the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry. Once Azerbaijan's government has approved the document, the final investment decision on the project will be reached. As expected, the FID should be reached in the second half of this year, closer to the end of the year," she said.
Bayatli added that the cost of the project, contractors, and construction sites would be determined by the time the FID is adopted.
Bayatli also said that the EIA report provides information on the current state of the environment and social environment, as well as forecasts for the impact of the project on the environment, and describes measures to minimize and reduce potential impact on the environment and the population.
The document indicates that the platform is intended exclusively for compressor equipment, without drilling operations. SDC will be equipped with four compressors with capacity of 11 MW each for gas compression.
The SDC platform is designed as a simplified, electrically powered installation, operating largely unmanned in order to reduce offshore maintenance. Sources of impact are minimized, with the platform not discharging sanitary and human waste, cooled and produced water, or fire service water or foam. Moreover, there is no flaring, disposable closed drains, or equipment for cleaning topsides with scrapers/topside pigging equipment.
Bayatly previously said that the new platform would be designed to capture low-pressure gas from several layers of the Shah Deniz field and deliver it to the Sangachal terminal. Low-pressure gas from the Shah Deniz Alpha and Shah Deniz Bravo platforms will be collected there and sent to the Sangachal terminal after increasing the pressure.
The project includes constructing an unmanned, electricity-powered main SDC unit, as well as installing electric and fiber optic cables and in-field subsea gas pipelines from the Alpha and Bravo platforms.
The company's materials indicate that the SDC will be installed 3 kilometers from the SDB and 10 km from the SDA. Constructing the jacket and topsides of the SDC platform, as well as components of the subsea infrastructure, is planned to be carried out in Azerbaijan. The tender procedures for selecting contractors are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2025. Constructing the onshore facilities and commissioning are mostly planned for 2026-2028.
Producing the first low-pressure gas from the Shah Deniz Alpha platform is scheduled for June-July 2029 and from the Shah Deniz Bravo platform in April-May 2030.
The field development contract was signed in 1996.
The parties' respective shareholding in the contract is currently BP (operator) at 29.99%, Lukoil at 19.99%, Turkey's TPAO at 19%, Azerbaijan's Cenub Qaz Dehlizi at 16.02%, Iran's NICO at 10%, and Hungary's MVM at 5%.
Gas and condensate production at the field is currently carried out from the Alpha platform as part of Stage 1 and the Bravo platform as part of Stage 2. Gas production began here in December 2006.
