OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2008. This June State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) that founded joint venture Socar-Umid LLC (SOCAR/Nobel Oil Exploration & Production (Saint Kirts): 20/80% respectively) has launched preparing for drilling works at Umid field in Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian.

SOCAR reports that recently SOCAR Geophysics and Geology Department conducted at Umid field geotechnical research works by drilling five geo-engineering wells with overall depth of 720.4 meters composing 36 km of acoustic profiles, 100 km of bathymetric measures, 42 km of planes based on sonar alignment.

“In the near future the N.Narimanov NGDU (oil & gas producer division) is going to start exploratory drilling at the field. In parallel, Neftqaztikinti started the construction of an inhabited block for Umid-1 gas producing platform,” it was informed.

The platform with height of 72 meters is constructed on the basis of Chirag-6 unused platform.

Earlier Narimanov NGDU (oil & gas producer division) with use of SOCAR Ecological Department’s research vessel MPK-452 conducted environmental assessment of water area of Umid field. The surveys were conducted on 20 base points to water depth of 55-60 m.

Such survey usually precedes an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of geophysical and then drilling of exploration and (in case of luck) development wells.

Socar-Umid LLC was established with formal charter capital of AZN 1 000. At present SOCAR is ready to conduct exploration at Umid independently.

Earlier an interest to the block was displayed by Germany’s Wintershall/RWE. In December 2007 SOCAR launched exploration of the 7th productive horizon on Umid structure. SOCAR expects to drill three exploration wells at Umid and the same quantity of wells at Babek.

"In case results of exploration at Umid structure are positive, the necessity of exploration on Babek structure will increase sharply,” said earlier SOCAR’s 1st vice president Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh.

SOCAR considers Umid/Babek block the most prospective structure at the moment. The block is located in deepwater part of Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

According to preliminary data, annual production over here can reach 14-15 bn cu m of gas at the peak of development and hydrocarbons reserves can total 200-300 million tons of oil equivalent.

By the present Azerbaijan has been discovered 71 oil and gas fields, including 43 onshore and 28 offshore ones. 54 fields are under development and 9 under exploration. The Programme of Fuel & Energy Complex for 2005-15 stipulates exploration (drilling of 19 wells to require AZN 2.76 bn of investments) of such prospective structures by SOCAR as Umid, Babek, Ashrafi, Garabagh and others. In period of 2008-15 SOCAR expects to drill 19 wells – by three wells at Umid, Babek, Absheron and Ashrafi, by two at Nakhchivan, Zafar/Mashal, Garabagh, one at Dan Ulduzu.