Umid gas field

Umid
Country Azerbaijan
Location/block Umid-Babek
Offshore/onshore Offshore
Operators SOCAR
Field history
Discovery November 24, 2010
Start of production September 2012
Abandonment NA
Production
Estimated gas in place 200×109 m3 (7.1×1012 cu ft)

Umid gas field (Azerbaijani: Ümid qaz yatağı) is the second largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. It is situated in the South Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan, approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) southeast of Baku, at a depth of 170 metres (560 ft).[1][2] In translation from Azerbaijani, Umid means Hope.[3]

History

Umid field is a part of a block previously consisting of Umid and Babek fields.[4] The geophysical works at Umid started in 1953 which were repeated in 1972. A total of 9 wells were drilled in the area from 1977 to 1992, however no commercially viable fields were discovered at the time.[1][5] In 2009, SOCAR financed the exploration works at Umid itself.[6] This is the first time since the Contract of the Century that Azerbaijan conducted exploration works entirely on its own.[7] The discovery of 200 bcm and 30-40 million tons of condensate (around 270-360mn bbl) initially forecasted by Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh was announced by SOCAR on November 24, 2010 after successful drilling at 6,500 metres (21,300 ft) on exploration platform Umid-1.[8][9]

According to experts, production at Umid field will most likely start in 3–4 years.[10]

Ownership

The gas field currently JV between SOCAR and Nobel Oil companies based on %80 and %20 shares.[11] The company invested approximately $5 billion in development works at Umid and is likely to earn nearly $45–50 billion.[8][12] It has been reported that Statoil is negotiating to take a major role in developing a cluster of Umid, Babek, Zafar and Mashal fields.[13]

Reserves

SOCAR leadership estimates that with further drilling, the overall reserves at Umid are likely to reach 300 bcm while those of Babek field lying under Umid will reach 600 bcm. Drilling at Babek will also be done by SOCAR.[1] The Azerbaijan's total gas reserves are estimated at 3 to 5 trillion cubic meters (tcm).[6] The discovery will boost Azerbaijan's potential as gas exporter to Western countries through the European evacuation route, i.e. Trans-Adriatic pipeline or Nabucco West pipeline.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "First time for 28 years SOCAR has discovered independently a gas field in Caspian with reserves of 250 bn cu m". Abc.az. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  2. ↑ "Umid Discovery Suggests Upside Potential To Reserves". Oil and Gas magazine. November 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  3. ↑ Ali Ahmedov (2010-11-24). "Large gas field discovered in Azerbaijan". Azeri Press Agency. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  4. ↑ "Открытие месторождения "Умид" по существу приводит к открытию очень крупных газовых месторождений – Ильхам Алиев" [Ilham Aliyev: "Discovery of Umid field will lead to discoveries of large gas fields"]. Ekho-Az. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  5. ↑ "Aliyev: Azerbaijan will have a say as gas exporter". Azernews. 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Socar tallies up giant Umid field". Upstream Online. 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  7. ↑ "Azerbaijani President meets SOCAR management as Umid gas field commissioned in Caspian Sea". Trend News Agency. 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Akper Hasanov (2010-12-06). "Umid gas field to bring $45bn of net income, expert". News.az. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  9. ↑ "Umid Discovery Suggests Upside Potential To Reserves". Penn Energy. 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  10. ↑ Aygun Muradkhanli (2010-11-25). "Azərbaycan qazının "Ümid"i" [Hope (Umid) of Azerbaijani natural gas]. RFE/RL. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  11. ↑ http://new.socar.az/socar/en/company/joint-ventures/socar-umid-llc
  12. ↑ Robert Cutler (2010-12-10). "Azerbaijan adds gas to gas". Asian Times. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  13. ↑ Marshall, Steve (2013-01-31). "Statoil 'in talks for Azeri mega-project'". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). Retrieved 2013-01-31.
  14. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Umid gas reserves 2nd only to Shah Deniz". Yahoo Finance. 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2010-12-06.