Offshore staff

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- BP and state oil company SOCAR have agreed to jointly explore and development the Shafag-Asiman structure in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev signed the 30-year production-sharing agreement (PSA) in Baku with BP Azerbaijan President Rashid Javanshir. It follows an earlier Heads of Agreement that which defined the basic commercial principles of the contract.

Under the PSA, BP Exploration Caspian Sea will be operator with a 50% interest, the remainder held by SOCAR.

The block is 125 km (78 mi) southeast of Baku, and covers an area of around 1,100 sq km (425 sq mi), never previously explored. Water depths range from 650-800 m (2,133-2,625 ft) with reservoir depth of around 7,000 m (22,966 ft).

10/07/2010