Azerbaijani drilling rig can be used on Kazakhstan shelf

Drilling of the first well under the Zhenis offshore project,  in which the oil company LUKOIL is involved, is planned for the second half of 2022.

According to the materials of the project operator – “Zhenis Operating”, the design depth of the well is 3300 m. The water depth in the drilling area is about 98 m. semi-submersible drilling rig (SSDR) “Dede Gorgud” (owned by the Azerbaijani CDC).

The tender for the development of a technical design for the construction of the V-1 exploration well on the Zhenis structure has already been held. The estimated start and completion dates for the abandonment of exploratory well V-1 are November 2022.

The Zhenis structure is located on the site of the same name, which is located in the southern part of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. The closest distance to the coast is 50 km. The seaports of Kuryk, Aktau and Bautino are located at a distance of 117 km, 180 km and 315 km, respectively, to the north of the center of the structure. On land, the nearest settlements are the urban settlement Kuryk (117 km to the east) and the regional center – the city of Aktau (180 km to the north). The border of the site is located in close proximity to the state border between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Zhenis Operating LLP is a joint venture between KazMunayGaz (50%) and LUKOIL (50%). The contract for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons was signed on April 1, 2019. The minimum obligations are to drill one exploration well and conduct 3D seismic work, for which it is planned to allocate about $ 60 million. The second stage is estimated at $ 210 million.

Exploration well R-1 (2010) and appraisal well AR-1 (2014-2015) were drilled in the immediate vicinity of the Zhenis block on the Rakushechnoye-Sea structure, exploration well N-1 was drilled on the Nursultan structure (2012) , as a result of which productive horizons of oil and gas were revealed in the deposits of the Aptian and Neocomian of the Lower Cretaceous.
In 2019, LUKOIL was guided by the start of drilling on the Zhenis offshore block in 2021. 

Caspian Barrel