SOCAR plans to resume drilling operations on the Umid gas condensate field, Khoshbakht Yusifzada, SOCAR Senior Vice President, told journalists.
“We are planning to start drilling of a slanted well on the Umid field to evaluate resources on the section, where the new operation wells will be placed. If the drilling results are successful, then we will decide to install a new production platform here,” he added.
Yusifzada said that drilling of a new well will be carried out in parallel with the tender to select a foreign partner for exploration and development of Umid-Babak bloc.
“The costs, which we will bear for the operations on the Umid field, will be taken into account while signing of a contract with a new partner,” he added.
It was reported earlier referring to Yusifzada that in summer 2014 SOCAR invited a tender for exploration and development of Umid-Babak bloc. The company has suspended development of Umid field and cancelled the plans to build a new production platform here.
* Umid-Babak perspective bloc is located in the deep-water part of the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, 75 km away from Baku. The resources of Umid field developed by SOCAR are estimated at minimum of 200 billion cub.m. of gas and 30 million tons of condensate. Umid field was discovered in November 2010. Operation of the field started from two wells in September 2012.
