Caspian Energy (CE): Mr. Iskenderov, could you please tell about possibilities for stabilizing the oil production in Azerbaijan? What are the possibilities to increase production at the existing offshore fields? Which works are currently underway to increase oil recovery?
Dashgin Iskenderov, General Director of SOCAR Azneft PU: Over recent years Azneft PU has performed a lot of work and achieved great success in exploration, drilling, construction and production. Currently, Azneft Production Union operates 27 oil and gas fields - 13 oil and gas fields in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea and 14 onshore fields. Most of the fields are under the last stage of development, but despite this they still have a great potential.
Given the high volumes of recoverable reserves of the fields under development now, works are currently performed to construct new jackets and expand the existing ones in order to secure the full recovery of those reserves. Positive results are being obtained through assessing limits of oil and gas presence in horizons, expanding the scope of geological studies, and analyzing the obtained data.
Along with the intensified operation and drilling of new wells, the important repair/renovation works were also performed at the old wells. With the aim of boosting the output at these fields, the work is currently underway to explore the layers, which are not involved in the development, or poorly explored and halted areas, and to bring them into use. At the same time there are many promising structures where exploration work is conducted for implementation of exploration drilling.
In 2017, one of the main ambitions of Azneft PU will be to maintain stability of production, as well as to build new platforms in order to boost production and expand drilling operations. Keeping the output at the stable level will be achieved mainly through continued drilling at the promising fields Gunashli, Bulla-Deniz and West Absheron, construction of new platforms (Platform #12 at Bulla-Deniz, Platform #620 at Neft Dashlary, Platforms #10 and #54 at West Absheron field), drilling of new wells, ongoing workover operations at the wells from the transition stock, and renovation of the idle well stock. At the same time extensive use of new technologies is expected to be put in place in order to keep the output stable and boost the increase in production. To this end, it is planned to continue using light pyrolysis tars (waste products from local production) for prevention of paraffin deposits, as well as to expand the use of access ramps for cleaning of lift pipes. All these steps will be taken to stabilize and boost production. On the other hand, sidetrack drilling is planned to increase oil recovery at old wells which have been in operation for a long time.
The renovation of the onshore/offshore infrastructure is continuing at fast pace. Efforts aimed at stabilization of the output will be continued under the basic commitment taken to implement safe and reliable operations in the Caspian.
CE: Could you please tell about the production performance since the beginning of the year? What are the plans for the current year?
Dashgin Iskenderov: In 2017, production is expected at 6 million 300 thousand tonnes of oil and 5 billion 550 million cubic meters of gas. This task shall be fulfilled by means of additional oil to be produced from new wells, by means of idle wells through the ongoing workover operations, and also by means of water injection wells and the use of new technologies.
In January-February 2017, Azneft produced 1 million 16 thousand tonnes of oil and condensate and 827.3 million cubic meters of gas from the offshore fields, and 52.5 thousand tonnes of oil and condensate and 11.4 million cubic meters of gas from the onshore fields. In total, offshore fields account for 95% of oil production and over 98% of gas production. These figures enable to suggest that the target figures for 2017 will be met.
CE: Which works are being done to boost a further increase in production? Is it possible to discover new fields?
Dashgin Iskenderov: To meet these objectives, seismic exploration and complex geological survey work is being implemented at fast pace. Predicting of new oil and gas fields is also in process. So, besides seismic, gravimetric, and magnetometric prospecting methods of geophysical exploration, which are conducted to determine areas of exploration drilling, the complex geophysical exploration is also implemented for the purpose of performing a direct exploration work.
At present, residual oil and gas reserves are being studied at the fields under development, and new areas are being explored to involve them in drilling. Exploration data of prospective structures are being analyzed in order to involve new fields in development.
To this end, in 2017 by order of Azneft PU the Geophysics and Geology Department and Neftgazelmitadgigatlayyiha Institute will perform scientific research and production work which can help identify directions and conduct exploration and prospecting work. In this regard, in 2016, seismic exploration was started on the Baku archipelago in the offshore area, which will be completed at the Bulla-Deniz field. At the moment it is planned to conduct 2D seismic survey at this area by the end of this year in order to determine a geological structure of the Sangachal-Sea-Duvanni-Sea-Khara-Zira fields and settle other geological issues.
Drilling of the exploration well #78 (design depth – 5,900 m, VIII horizon) on the Bulla-Deniz field of the oil and gas region of the Baku archipelago is underway. At the same time it is planned to drill the prospecting well# 91 (design depth - 6,300 m, to the VIII horizon) and exploratory wells #29 and #38 at the Gunashli field (with the design depth of 4,200 and 4,100 meters, respectively, to the Kalinskaya suite).
Apart from this, parameters of Bulla-Deniz field, production figures of wells and volumes of remaining reserves of hydrocarbons make it possible to increase production here by several times. Therefore, the program of full-scale production of the field was developed again. According to this program, 6 platforms are planned to be built here till 2025 from which 27 deep wells are to be drilled. Two wells from this total have already been drilled and commissioned. Drilling of two more wells is still ongoing. After all drilling operations have been completed, it will be possible to raise daily oil and gas production on fields by 6-7 times, which compensates natural production decline at other fields. As a result, production of Azneft PU will remain stable.
As far as onshore fields are concerned, it is planned to commence 2D regional development in the course of the year at Yevlakh-Agjabedi oil-bearing area and complete it till the end of the year.
