BP completes subsea operations on ACG wells to increase oil production levels
BAKU. Sept 28 (Interfax) - BP Plc , the operator of the project for developing the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of fields in Azerbaijan, has completed subsea well intervention operations, with the work aimed at increasing oil production levels, BP's vice president for wells in the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey (AGT) region Russell Morris said.
BP announced the launch of a multi-well subsea campaign in the Deepwater Gunashli area of the ACG block in October last year, Morris wrote on social media. The campaign has now been successfully completed and all planned goals have been achieved, with the work finishing almost a month ahead of schedule, he said.
He recalled that the campaign was aimed at seven subsea wells that had previously been considered difficult to access using traditional intervention methods. Having completed intervention work on these wells, BP can effectively conduct monitoring and identify opportunities for managing reservoir pressure and increasing production rates, he said.
To carry out this work, the technology of Riserless Light Well Intervention (RLWI) using mechanical wire was applied for the first time in Caspian operations, Morris said. For this, the subsea construction vessel Khankendi was converted into a Light Well Intervention Vessel (LWIV).
The operations were based on the intervention system Oceaneering BORIS (Blue Ocean Riserless Intervention System), applied with the support of Italy's Saipem as the vessel operator and the U.S. company SLB as the equipment contractor, Morris said.
BP previously said that the goal of these operations was to increase oil production levels at ACG, maximize oil recovery from the reservoirs and extend the field's operational life. The completion of this work was planned for the end of 2026.
The contract for the development of the Azeri, Chirag and deep-water part of the Gunashli fields was signed in 1994. Its term expired in 2024, but a new contract was signed in September 2017, which is valid until 2050.
Currently, the shareholding of parties in the project is as follows: BP plc with 30.37%, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) with 35.3%, Hungary's MOL with 9.57%, Japan's Inpex Corp. with 9.31%, the U.S. company ExxonMobil with 6.79%, Turkey's TPAO with 5.73% and India's ONGC Videsh with 2.925%. On August 3, 2026, SOCAR acquired the stake of Japan's Itochu in the project, increasing its participation in it from 31.65% to 35.3%.
