The international oil agreement on exploration, development and production sharing of Azeri, Chirag, Gunehsli fields signed with 11 transnational companies under the leadership of All-National Leader Heydar Aliyev in Baku on September 20, 1994 entered the modern history as the Contract of the Century and gave a rise to the social-political life of independent Azerbaijan.
The Republic of Azerbaijan developed rapidly and achieved high results after gaining independence. The implementation of the new oil strategy, developed under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev, has considerably raised the economic power and an international authority of Azerbaijan. The country’s becoming a guarantor of the global energy security has been the result of effective use of available natural resources. Today, the country’s oil strategy enriched by new ideas is developing under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.
SOCAR is currently performing projects of regional and global importance and thereby making a strong contribution to the development of the country’s economy. Owing to new geological discoveries and operation of new fields, the volume of energy resources of the country is growing together with export capacities.
To ensure further successful works in these directions, the Complex Drilling Works Trust was established in accordance with the Azerbaijan President’s order #539 dated March 7, 2007 implying supplements into the President’s earlier order #844 dated January 24, 2003 “About improvement of the structure of the State Oil Company of AR”, and SOCAR’s order #51 dated March 12, 2007.
At present the Complex Drilling Works Trust is operating 6 production units (Bulla-8 March-Umid PU, Gunashli PU, Neft Dashlary PU, Garadag-Galmaz PU, Absheron PU and Siyazan PU), Logistics unit and Storage Facilities Unit.
The Trust is performing exploratory and production well drilling at onshore and offshore areas of the country by applying new techniques and technologies meeting international standards: “Guba-Khazaryani” oil-gas bearing region, Absheron oil-gas bearing region, the Kur-Gabirry interfluve area, on 15 fields owned by SOCAR and located in the water area of the Absheron and Baku archipelagos. All these operations are performed timely and qualitatively in high compliance with environmental and safety standards, operational and labor discipline, which is aimed at ensuring health safety of workers.
In particular, in order to conduct exploratory drilling aimed at maintenance of stable oil production in the republic, the Trust, relying on the data base provided by customers, tightly cooperates with the SOCAR departments which possess a big scientific potential. In recent years SOCAR has been taking important measures to increase oil-gas production in the country. Acquisition of advanced drilling equipment and broad-scale use of new equipment and technologies in drilling, which meet the modern world standards, are an integral part of these operations. By using latest equipment and technologies, unique platforms are built both onshore and offshore, accelerated drilling is carried out, oil-gas wells are commissioned. In general, SOCAR has turned into a modern world-class company in recent years. Certainly, it is a selfless labor of drillers that has been playing a big role in development of underground resources. Particular importance that the SOCAR management attaches to the drilling work stimulates drill men to work much harder for the development of the oil industry and growth of the economic power of the country.
Each result and passed year is marked as a year of high achievements.
Thus, within 7 months of 2015 the staff of the Trust drilled a total of 57,193m at onshore and offshore sections. The Trust started drilling 42 wells during January-July. Drilling operations have been completed on 43 wells. 41 wells have been handed over to a customer.
In spite of the fact that only 8 years have passed since the establishment of the Complex Drilling Works Trust, it managed to gain certain success. Performing prospecting and exploration work on Bulla-Deniz, Goshadash, Jahandar, Turkan, Beyimdag-Tekchay structures, Pirallakhy, Muradkhanly and Eldaroyugu islands, the Trust has successfully fulfilled a plan assigned to it by SOCAR.
As a result, the drill men discovered and commissioned a rich gas-condensate field Umid – the first well was drilled by the staff of the Complex Drilling Works Trust. Drilling operations on the platform #1, installed on Umid structure, were performed by a modern drilling unit ZJ 70/4500 DZ. The unit is the latest achievement of drill men, equipped with top-drive mechanism, purchased from the USA and China, meeting modern technical and technological standards. This project, implemented at Umid structure, has been one of the important facilities of the gas program. It is the first unique facility erected by the Azerbaijani oilmen in the national sector of the Caspian Sea. Together with Drilling Fluids LTD, Azeri MI Company performed drilling operations on this well by using “QKAH” hydrocarbon based solution and LWD/MWD/PWD telemeter measuring devices from Schlumberger.
The commissioning of the Umid field has been a celebration of the economic power of Azerbaijan and logical completion of SOCAR’s becoming a world class company.
Unique Umid-1 platform was built by own efforts of SOCAR. Drilling of the exploratory well #10 from this platform was completed 4 months ahead the schedule, i.e. in summer 2012. The most advanced techniques and latest technologies were used while drilling this well. Among them noteworthy are hydrocarbon based solutions, deep-well pumps, modern hydraulic underreamers and modern bicentric drill bits. The well, constructed and drilled to the depth of 6,400m has fully hit the 7th horizon of the productive stratum and fulfilled its geological mission. It is noteworthy that the daily output of the well #10, completed in June 2012, totals 1 mln 200 thou cubic meters of gas and 150 tonnes of condensate.
The indicators of this well confirm that Umid field possesses large hydrocarbon reserves and it once again proves that the mentioned field possesses the biggest gas reserves after Shah Deniz. At present the reserves of Umid field are estimated at 200 bcm of gas and 40 mln tonnes of condensate. A new gas pipeline connecting Umid-1 platform with the system of the gas pipelines of the country was laid over the past period. Umid is also the first field discovered after the state independence has been gained. This achievement went down in history as an important success gained by drill men of Azerbaijan.
Drilling of the horizontal well #1211 on Pirallakhy field also refers to important success gained by the Complex Drilling Works Trust. The most advanced technical and technological innovations, which do exist in the global drilling practice, were used while drilling this well. The well with a high productivity was handed over to field men after installation of filters and development.
It must be noted that among fields discovered at the Baku archipelago it is Bulla-Deniz field which abounds in deposits and is promising from the standpoint of future exploration work. From this standpoint, successful completion of drilling operations carried out on Bulla Deniz field’s well #124 from the platform #122 as well as the handover of this well with a daily flow rate reaching, 1 mln 250 thou cubic meters of gas and 250 thou tonnes of condensate, can be assessed as a grandiose achievement of the Complex Drilling Works Trust. The management of SOCAR took part in this ceremony that coincided with the commencement of drilling operations. A ten block jacket, designed for drilling of three production wells, was installed at a depth of 26m of the sea. The most advanced technical and technological achievements, applied in the field of global drilling, were used while drilling the well #124.
Since July 29, 2015 Complex Drilling Works Trust has started drilling the following well #125 with a targeted depth of 6,200m from the platform #122 installed on Bulla Deniz field. All necessary operations are currently underway in order to ensure successful completion of drilling of this well and its delivery with a high flow-rate to a customer.
The results of drilling operations performed by the staff of the Complex Drilling Works Trust from the platform #112 installed on Chilov field are also worth noticing. The flow rate from these two wells (#112 and #113) drilled from this platform totaled 40-50 tonnes instead of anticipated 5 tonnes per day. One more well (#114) is planned to be delivered to a customer in near future.
Modern drilling equipment ZJ-50 and ZJ-70 as well as two mobile units ZJ-40, produced in China, were acquired in order to ensure qualitative, effective and safe performance of operations. ZJ-50 is used to conduct drilling from the platform #2585 installed on the Neft Dashlary field (Oil Rocks). Mobile drilling units are used to drill a prospecting well at Eldaroyugu field and at Garadag gas storage.
The staff of the Trust continues drilling on Guneshli field as well. Drilling on wells #35 and #37 is currently carried out from the fixed platforms #8 and #19 respectively. Corresponding operations on assembling of the new drilling equipment ZJ-50, designed for drilling 6 wells from the platform #10 and two wells from the platform #14, are performed. High technical-economic indexes are expected to be gained from drilling operations to be performed by this equipment at Guneshli field.
The Complex Drilling Works Trust also performs drilling from platforms #1887, 2585 and 418А on the Oil Rocks field as well as from platforms #670 and 740 on Darwin Bankasi field. Drilling from the platform #720 installed on Darwin Bankasi field will be commenced in near future.
Important measures have been undertaken in recent years in order to improve gas supply of the population in autumn-winter season. According to the program of events prepared by SOCAR, purposeful and consecutive operations on expansion of the capacity of operating underground gas storages in the country “Galmaz” and “Garadag” are carried out in the country in order to reach this goal.
Drilling of new wells is currently continued at Garadag section of Azneft PU’s gas storages department. 3 wells (#482, 483 and 486), drilled by using new equipment as ZJ-50 and ZJ-40, were handed in to a customer at Garadag section within 7 months of 2015. Drilling is ongoing on wells #483 and #487. One more well (#488) is planned to be handed in to a customer by the end of the year as soon as the drilling is completed.
In general, the staff of the Trust, which uses modern equipment, advanced techniques and latest technologies, mobilized all its capacities with the purpose to successfully complete exploratory and production drilling both onshore and offshore throughout the rest period of 2015.
