BP Vice President: No decision on drilling at Shafag-Asiman

BP, the exploration operator of the promising Shafag-Asiman block, is working on planning further works on the area after drilling the main bore of the first well, said BP Vice President for the Caspian region, Communications and Advocacy, Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, Report informs.

Certain data were obtained on the presence of hydrocarbons in the well, Aslanbayli noted.

He added that the main bore of the first exploration well was brought to the planned depths in March, all the necessary soil samples were taken, seismological studies were carried out, temperature and density measurements were made and other data collected.

However, the data obtained as a result of the first stage of drilling turned out to be different from those that were included in the drilling program before the start of work. All this required additional study and interpretation of the results.

“At the moment, the interpretation of the data obtained during drilling continues. Based on the results of this work, a decision will be made on what to do next. This may include continuation of sidetracking from an existing well, the possibility of drilling a second well is also being considered, as well as other next steps,” Aslanbayli said.

He noted that BP is now focused on drilling an exploration well in Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula (SWAP) area.

In the original scenario, the company planned to bring the main bore drilling to the project, then drill a sidetrack to locate the oil and water contact in order to estimate the size of the reservoir and make an initial estimate of reserves. The current revision of plans gives reason to speculate that the results were not so successful. However, there is no confirmed data to state this.

Earlier BP announced that it expects to discover gas and condensate reserves at Shafag-Asiman block comparable to those of the Shah Deniz field.