SLB: Bahar field should be developed as fully digital asset

The Bahar field should be developed as a fully digital asset, Gökhan Yarım, Senior Vice President for Integration at US company SLB, said at the 31st Baku Energy Forum, Report informs.

"The Bahar project is currently at the design stage. Nevertheless, it should be built as a 100% digital asset. This will allow us to control each specific component of the production chain, from the fluid phase in the porous medium to the main pipeline," he said.

Yarım stressed that, as part of the Bahar project, the company's specialists have applied the most advanced and modern seismic exploration tools.

"We deployed artificial intelligence technologies to be able to identify several different productive layers. When analyzing development options, we looked at possible scenarios, what types of wells would need to be drilled, how they should be positioned and, especially with the use of directional and horizontal drilling technologies, in which direction they should be steered. At the well completion stage, selecting optimal technologies was of exceptional importance. For this reason, we are developing ways to ensure maximum recovery factors for this asset.

"To implement an integrated approach, we are designing it in line with secondary and even tertiary production methods. I am confident that, in the case of the Bahar project, we are dealing with something truly unique. I am very much looking forward to the implementation of this project and hope excellent results will be achieved for Azerbaijan and the entire region," Yarım said.

SOCAR and Bahar Energy Limited signed an agreement on exploration, rehabilitation, development and production sharing for the Bahar and Gum Deniz fields block on December 22, 2009. Under the agreement, Bahar Energy Limited holds an 80% stake in the project, while the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, holds 20%.

The contract is valid for 25 years, with the possibility of a further five-year extension. The investment program was initially estimated at $1 billion, with all investments to be made by Bahar Energy Limited. Remaining gas reserves in the contract block are estimated at 25 billion cubic meters.