Baku: In the first quarter of this year, approximately 0.9 billion cubic meters of associated gas were transferred from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil and gas fields to the Azerbaijani state, primarily to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), marking a 28.6% increase compared to the same period last year. This was facilitated through infrastructure at the Sangachal terminal and the Neft Dashlari platform.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, BP’s quarterly report on its operations in Azerbaijan revealed that an average of 11 million cubic meters of gas per day was supplied from ACG to SOCAR during the reporting period. The report also highlighted that the remaining associated gas produced was reinjected into the reservoir to maintain pressure. Notably, a portion of this gas is provided to SOCAR at no charge.
The share distribution within ACG includes BP as the operator with 30.37%, AzACG (SOCAR) holding 25.00%, followed by MOL, Inpex, Equinor, ExxonMobil, TPAO, Itochu, and ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) with shares of 9.57%, 9.31%, 7.27%, 6.79%, 5.73%, 3.65%, and 2.31% respectively. Initially, the agreement between these parties was set for 30 years, expiring in 2024. However, on September 14, 2017, an amended and restated agreement was signed, extending the joint development and production sharing of ACG through 2050. This extension is anticipated to significantly boost the production potential of the ACG block into the mid-21st century.