BP to finish drilling first production well from new platform at ACG block offshore Azerbaijan in Q1

BAKU. Feb 19 (Interfax) - BP will finish drilling the first production well from the new Azeri Central East (ACE) platform at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block offshore Azerbaijan in the first quarter of 2024.

"First oil from the ACE platform is expected this year. Three production wells should be drilled from this platform during the year. Drilling of the first well to obtain the first oil will be completed in the first quarter," Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, BP Vice President for the Caspian Region, Communications and External Affairs, told reporters on Monday.

He said the first well's results would be crucial from the point of view of obtaining information on reservoir pressure, oil recovery and other data for further stages of the block's development, which will slow the decline in oil production from ACG.

Aslanbayli said negotiations with State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) might yield results in 2024; a program to prevent a sharp decline in oil production at ACG will be drafted.

BP started drilling the first production well from the ACE platform on December 4, 2023. The target depth is 3,188 meters.

The ACE project is the next stage in the development of the ACG block, with 48 wells planned. The goal of the ACE project is to achieve daily peak production of up to 100,000 barrels of oil and 350,000 cubic feet of gas by drilling additional wells and installing additional offshore facilities.

The shareholders in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli development project signed a final investment decision on the $6 billion ACE project in April 2019.

Oil production at ACG fell 12.5% to 133 million barrels in 2023. Average daily oil production fell to 363,000 bpd in 2023 from 415,400 bpd in 2022.