BP: Free gas reserves discovered in two zones of ACG block

Free natural gas reserves have been discovered in two zones of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of fields located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea - Azeri and Gunashli - but the exact assessment of these reserves is not yet known, BP Vice President for Production and Operations Gordon Birrell said at a briefing in Baku, Report informs.

"Recoverable free natural gas reserves in the Gunashli zone are estimated at 4 trillion cubic feet, which could reach 6 trillion cubic feet through additional technologies, while reserves in the Azeri zone have not yet been assessed," Birrell said.

According to him, there are still many unknowns and uncertainties regarding the deep-lying reservoirs.

"We have not yet made calculations for the Azeri zone; we do not have data. Yesterday, we began producing free natural gas from the lower reservoir. Over the next few weeks, we will start production from the upper reservoir, and the gas will be sent to the West Chirag platform, then to the Sangachal terminal and further to the market. However, it is still too early to say who the buyer of this gas will be; negotiations must be held for that," he said.

ACG is Azerbaijan's largest oil field block. The first production sharing agreement on the development of the block was signed on September 20, 1994. On September 14, 2017, a new agreement was signed on the joint development of the fields and production sharing. The agreement provides for the development of the fields until the end of 2049.

The shareholders in ACG are BP with 30.37%, SOCAR with 31.65%, MOL Group with 9.57%, INPEX with 9.31%, ExxonMobil with 6.79%, TPAO with 5.73%, ITOCHU with 3.65% and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) with 2.925%.