Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli: Pandemic almost led to halt of BP platforms in Caspian

British company BP had to completely change all personnel on its offshore platforms three times due to the outbreak of COVID-19 infection, but the shutdown of offshore oil and gas production was avoided. No platform was idle, Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, BP Vice President for the Caspian region, Communications, and Advocacy, said.

Report quotes him as saying if there was another surge in the spread of infection, the company might have not found shift workers for the next change of personnel on the platforms. Fortunately, according to Aslanbayli, this did not happen. None of the offshore platforms at Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) and Shah Deniz, not a single drilling rig, not a single construction site of the company was idle due to the pandemic.

“Production continues at the ACG field, where production volumes will be close to the forecast according to the annual business plan. The situation at the Shah Deniz deposit is very good - the annual forecast will be exceeded. The construction of the Azeri-Central East (ACE) platform has been completed by 60%, and the downright completion of construction is expected in 2022,” Aslanbayli said, adding that the first oil, as planned, is expected to be extracted in 2023.

The ACE will produce 100,000 barrels per day, which will keep the production level at ACG in general at a relatively stable level.