SOCAR adds production platform at Darwin Bank
BAKU. Oct 7 (Interfax) - State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) has started up production at a new 10-block platform at the Darwin Bank field in the Caspian Sea, the company said on its web site.
"The state commission started up production at the new 10-block N660 platform at the Darwin Bank field. The platform is in 17 meters of water and is designed to drill 12 wells," the statement says.
Recoverable reserves at Darwin Bank total 3 million tonnes.
Another platform at the field, N340, was expanded in 2008. It has drilled eight wells since, each producing 6-7 tonnes of oil a day. This year platform N190 was expanded from 10 wells to 16.
Construction of platform N620 is now underway. It includes 12 blocks and is designed for 20 wells with an average depth of 1,300 meters. The platform will be positioned in water 15 meters deep.
Darwin Bank, located 6 kilometers off Pirallahi Island, has been in production since 1950. A total of 651 wells have been drilled at the field, producing 16.2 million tonnes of oil. Currently 121 wells are in operation, producing a total of 200 tonnes of oil a day.