bp has issued updates on ongoing development and exploration activities on its fields and licenses in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
ACG Field delivering stable production
During the third quarter, an initial production well was drilled from the West Chirag platform under an Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) non-associated gas (NAG) addendum agreement signed in 2024.
Appraisal data from the well will also be used to support planning for the future ACG NAG development.
The well penetrated the priority shallow NKP and deeper PK reservoirs, both beneath the currently producing oil reservoirs. It confirmed the presence of gas in the NKP reservoir, which is where first ACG NAG production will likely start in the first half of next year.
It also encountered high-pressure gas in the PK reservoir, where testing is scheduled for early 2026.
During the first three quarters of the year, ACG drilled and completed six oil producers, four water injector wells and one gas injector well.
Late last month, bp announced it is preparing to launch a multi-well subsea intervention campaign in the Deepwater Gunashli area of the ACG Field.
Shah Deniz development work continues
At the Shah Deniz 2 field development, subsea work took place this summer for the remaining well on the West South flank. The subsea construction vessel Khankendi is in dry dock undergoing a class survey and general maintenance, including thruster repairs, before resuming operations on the project.
During the third quarter, the Istiglal rig completed the the SDF04 well on the West South flank. The Heydar Aliyev rig, after finishing drilling operations on the SDH04 well on the East North flank, is now drilling SDH05 in the same area.
Karabagh OBN campaign starting soon
In June, bp joined the risk service agreement (RSA) for the development of the offshore Karabagh Field and the production sharing agreement (PSA) for exploration of the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara (ADUA) area.
The company, which acquired 35% interests from SOCAR in each agreement, now operates both the RSA and PSA. The partners are working on best use of existing infrastructure in the Caspian Sea for the oil and gas development.
First planned step for Karabagh is a program involving an ocean-bottom node (OBN) seismic survey and a high-resolution (HR)/ultra-high resolution (UHR) seismic survey. The 3.5-month OBN survey is due to start next month, followed by the 45-day HR/UHR survey in March-April 2026.
The OBN campaign should improve understanding of the reservoir and support well planning and field development optimization.
The HR/UHR seismic survey will assist with identification of geological hazards that could impact well integrity as well as subsurface hazards that might affect the safe installation of a platform and other infrastructure.
