Fossil Energy – Caspian Sea
BP has announced the spud of a new exploration well in the contract area under the agreement on the exploration, development and production sharing for the Shah Deniz prospective area in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.
Shah Deniz is one of the world’s largest gas-condensate fields. It is located on the deep water shelf of the Caspian Sea, 70 km southeast of Baku, in water depths ranging from 50 to 500 m.
The SDX-8 well is drilled with the Heydar Aliyev semisubmersible drilling rig, which was moved to the location in the eastern flank of the Shah Deniz field in December 2022.
It is planned to drill the well to a total depth of around 7,000 metres. The well will take approximately one year to drill and a further testing programme could extend the well’s duration in order to evaluate the results.
If successful, the well will provide a clearer understanding of drillability, producibility, and resource potential of the deeper horizons beneath the currently producing reservoirs in the eastern flank.
