OREANDA-NEWS. June 02, 2009. Unfavorable conditions over the global financial and economic crisis had not impact on State Oil Company of Azerbaijan’s plans on large-scale exploration drilling at offshore prospective structures.

SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev says that the Company keeps its plans on 110,000 m of exploration drilling until 2015.

“In the next few years we are going to drill 19 wells at prospective structures Umid, Absheron, Nakhchivan, Zafar, Dan Ulduzu, start exploration drilling at Babek and Mashal, plan beginning of exploration at Garabagh and Ashrafi,” Abdullayev said.

The Company has already finished preparing for beginning of exploration drilling at Umid structure (a platform there has been installed).

Last year SOCAR announced that in period of 2008-15 it 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. Total cost of the programme is estimated at AZN 2.76 bn or on average at up to AZN 145.3 million per well.

SOCAR is ready to draw international contractors to these works. For instance, the PSA contract with Total for exploration and development of Absheron structure has been signed and put into force this year.