Offshore staff
(Caspian Sea) - The production platform for the Stage 1 development of the Shah Deniz gas field was installed at its location in the field, 100 km south of Baku in the Caspian Sea.
The operation followed tow-out from the Zykh construction yard near Baku, connection of foundations to the platform legs, and positioning of the platform over the subsea well template.
The platform has been jacked up into its final position 13 m above sea level.
The commissioning of the platform and completion of pre-drilled production wells will take around five months, with first gas planned for the winter of 2006.
The facility is capable of processing 900 MMcf/d of gas.
Gas and condensate from the field will be transported via subsea pipelines to the Sangachal terminal for final processing.
J Ray McDermott was awarded the contract by BP for the transportation and offshore installation of 57 mi of 26-in. gas pipeline, 57 mi of 12-in. condensate pipeline, and a 4-in. diameter MEG pipeline (piggybacked to the 12-in. pipeline) approximately 57 mi long.
Completion is expected in August 2006.
The condensate will be exported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and gas will be exported via the South Caucasus Pipeline to Azerbaijani, Georgian, and Turkish markets.
04/28/06
