BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The new compressor station will not be constructed on the Sangachal oil terminal for casing-head gas deliveries to the system of the JC "Azerigaz". The Chief of the General Management of the Fuel-Energetic Operations of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Azerbaijan Mr. Idris Rzabekov.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW COMPRESSOR STATION ON THE SANGACHAL OIL TERMINAL HAVE NOT BEEN PLANNED FOR CASING-HEAD GAS DELIVERIES TO "AZERIGAZ"
By his words, the casing-head gas will be delivered from the terminal under a pressure of 40 - 41 atm. "The pipelines managing by the JC "Azerigaz" are not capable to keep such pressure. So it is planned to install there the gas controller, which would reduce the pressure of gas up to 20 atm there and then it will be delivered to the gas distribution network of "Azerigaz".
We shall remind that the new gas pipeline was constructed for delivering the casing-head gas produced by the international consortium within frameworks of the full scale development of the fields "Azeri-Chiraq-Guneshli" (ACG). It will be laid from the Sangachal terminal up to the gas distribution network of "Azerigaz". The agreement on this has been already achieved between BP (the operator of the ACG project), the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan and the JC "Azerigaz". The length of the pipeline will make 3.5 km, the capacity - 700 MM cubic feet per a year. Its laying will be carried out within frameworks of the extension of the Sangachal terminal, however by own means of the SOCAR. All required materials have been ordered already. The construction of the pipeline will start in the first quarter of 2004.
Today all oil delivered to the Sangachal terminal is separated from water and gas. The gas received in result of this is burned. The construction of the new installation will allow not burning gas, but delivering it to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, which in its turn will deliver it to consumers. The gas will be burned in flames only in emergencies. In the future it would allow to reduce the gas import.
THE SOCAR CONSIDERS A POSSIBILITY OF PROCESSING AZERBAIJAN OPP FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (the SOCAR) considers a possibility of oil processing from other countries on the Azerbaijan OPP, the Chief of the Management of Marketing and Economic Relations (MMER) of the SOCAR Mr. Elshad Nasirov.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The Japan companies will not be engaged in the development of the largest Iranian oil field "Azadegan". The Minister of Oil of Iran Mr. Bijan Hamdar Zangane has declared about this. By his words, "after refusal of the Japanese companies to sign the final agreement, the negotiations with the other oil corporations started." This statement has been done since after Tokyo started to postpone the negotiation process under the official Washington pressure.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The JC "Azerenergy" plans to attract about $80 MM for modernization of the Azerbaijan SREPS, the President of the Company Mr. Etibar Pirverdiyev has informed journalists.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The Holland Fondel Metal Participation B. V. (the managing company of the JC "Azeraluminium") has allocated about $40 MM in the modernization of the Gyaja alumina plant and the Sumgayit aluminum plant joining into the JC. The Chairman of the Board of the Directors of "Azeraluminium" Mr. Ali Ozkurt.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The nominal money incomes of the Azerbaijan population made 14 trln 988.8 bn manats for January - August 2003 and this is by 12.8% higher than for the analogous period of 2002.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The sitting of the Azerbaijan-American working group on the economic cooperation will be held on November - December 2003 in Washington (the USA), the Agency "Interfax-Azerbaijan has been informed in the Ministry of Finances.
BAKU 22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The meeting of co-chairmen of the Minsk Group of the OSCE with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on problems of adjusting the Nagorny Karabakh conflict has been planned by the beginning of October in Paris within frameworks of the conference of UNESCO, :The new co-chairman of the Minsk Group of the OSCE from Russia Mrl Yurij Merzlyakov has informed about this.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The company BP is ready to allocate up to $500 MM of credits by the construction of the MEP Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan (BTC). Mr. David Woodword, the Chief of the Company BP - Azerbaijan has informed the journalists about this. Moreover, he emphasized that the credit will be allocated in the same conditions as of the commercial banks.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: On the field "West Azeri" (the megastructure "Azeri-Chiraq-Guneshli" in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea) the repeated "bag drilling" will be carried out for shift of drilling strings of nine wells. Media-Press has been informed about this from informed sources.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: In the end of September the officials of the Japanese Consortium JAOC, the operator of the development of the perspective unit "Ateshgyakh - Yanan - Tava - Mugan - Deniz on the Azerbaijan shelf of the Caspian Sea will arrive in Baku for determination of the further destiny of the project "Ateshgyakh - Yanan-Tava - Mugan-Deniz.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The American ExxonMobil will start a drilling of the exploring well in the Azerbaijan offshore structure "Zafar-Mashal" in the mid of October but not in the mid of September, as it has been planned earlier. The General Manager of Exxon-Azerbaijan Mr. Dreau Goodberd has informed about this.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The company BP-Azerbaijan started the modernization of the Zikh plant in Baku, where mounting of the modules for the offshore platforms of TPG-500 type will be carried out. We shall remind that this platform will be installed on the gas field "Shakh-Deniz" on the Caspian shelf of Azerbaijan. By the words of the director "Shakh-Deniz" Mr. Rob Kelly, the modernization of the plant will take not above 9 months. A cost of the works - $15 - 20 MM.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: In accordance with predicts for 2004, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (the SOCAR) will produce 8.8 MM tons of oil. The Chief of the General Management of the Fuel-Energetic Operations of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Azerbaijan Mr.Idris Rzabekov has informed about this.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The construction of the underwater gas pipeline, which would connect the field Bakhar and Neft Dashlari ("Oil Rocks") has been completed already by 80%: 56 km of pipes from 68 have been laid already on the Caspian bottom. If the weather conditions allow, its construction will be completed by the end of September, and putting into operation has been planned by October after the relevant tests. The Chief of the General Management on the Fuel-Energetic Operations of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Azerbaijan Mr. Idris Rzabekov.
BAKU.22.09.2003.MEDIA-PRESS: The construction of the offshore stationary platform (OSP) N13 in the shallow-water part of the field "Guneshli" of the Azerbaijan Caspian shelf will be completed in the beginning of 2004, Media-Press has been informed in the SOCAR.
Now two OPP of the Republic process only the local oil and Azerbaijan looks for different versions for their loading. "Periodically we make enquiries for petroleum producers in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and they send us samples of the produced oil, and this initiative has a mutual character", - Mr. E. Nasirov has said.
By his words, for the present time samples of the Polish oil have been delivered to the OPP "Azerneftyanacag". Now total costs of oil products made from one ton of oil , profitability of its processing in Baku and further exportation to the world markets are checked up. Mr. E. Nasirov also has noted that the Polish oil is of high quality with low sulphur containment and there would not any problems during its processing.
The SOCAR produces about 9 MM tons of oil per a year and 6.5 MM tons of it are spent on processing and 2,5 MM tons on export by the route Baku - Novorossiysk. The project capacity of two OPP of the country makes 24 MM tons of oil per a year. In the period of the USSR existence complementary oil from the West Siberian and Kazakhstan was delivered for processing besides beside of the Azerbaijan oil.
On January - August the Azerbaijan OPP reduced the oil production in comparison with the analogous period of the past year by 5.01% up to 3.823 MM tons. 1MM 874 thou tons from this volume were produced by "Azerneftyanacag", 1MM 949 thou tons by the OPP "Azerneftyag".
The reduction in the oil products issue is connected with reduction in volumes of oil delivered to processing, they noted in the SOCAR. In total, the oil processing volumes are forecasted on a level 6MM 075 thou tons in 2003.
IRAN DISPROVED JAPAN OF A RIGHT ON DEVELOPMENT OF THE LARGEST FIELD "AZADEGAN"
As the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri reports, Teheran paid attention to China and Europe after the USA pressed on Japan and really broke conclusion of the contract with the Japan National Oil Corp. By the information of the issue, the European Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Total S. A. and Chinese China's Sinopec Corp. can take part in the development of the field "Azadegan".
By opinion of the Agency GlobalRus.Ru, the Russian and Chinese companies will become the main pretenders on development of this one of the largest field with the oil supplies of 26 bn bbl. Moreover, the Russian companies have advantages: they had applied already for development of the field. However, the collision scarcely will change in result of this. Only Moscow will replace Tokyo. Nevertheless, the USA rather will object formally. America has not so many opportunities of pressure on Russia and moreover, it is more profitable for the USA to give Iran to Russia, but not to China.
THE JC "AZERENERGY" INTENDS TO ATTRACT $80 MM FOR MODERNIZATION OF THE SREPS "AZERBAIJAN"
By his words, the European Reconstruction and Development is able to allocate up to $50 MM and negotiaons on this are conducted at the present time. Also a number of the German banks, particularly Kreditanstalt fur Wiederraufbau (KfW) show interest to this.
"We suppose a conduction of the reconstruction of all eight units of the Azerbaijan SREPS, the construction of new funnel and other operations", - Mr E. Pirverdiyev determined.
The ERDB already had the experience on cooperation with "Azerenergy". The modernization of the Mingechavir HEPS ($21) was conducted and the construction of the Enikend HEPS ($53 MM) has been completed.
The project capacity of the Azerbaijan SPEPS makes 2.4 GVt. The first unit of the station was put into operation in 1981 and the eigth - in 1989. Over a half of total electric power is produced on the SREPS.
FONDEL METAL HAS ALLOCATED $40 MM IN THE ALUMINUM INDUSTRY OF AZERBAIJAN
"$26 MM from this total were transferred to the modernization of two industrial lines by the Sumgayit Aluminium Plant. The rest total was spent on the restoration of the production at the Gyanja Alumina Plant, - Mr. A. Ozkurt has said.
By his words, now 27.5 thou tons of alumina are produced monthly at the Gyanja Alumina plant and it is planned to increase this rate up to 37.5 thou tons.
The alumina at the Gyanja plant is produced from bauxites imported fro Guinea and India. "The large means are spent on transport. So we consider the possibility of alumina production from the alunite, the supplies of which are in the Zaglik Alunite Mine, included in the JC "Azeraluminium", - Mr. A. Ozkurt has noticed.
By his words, at positive results of the experimental installation tests, already on 2004 the enterprise would be able development of the mine for the alumina production from the alunite.
As to the Sumgayit Plant, where alumina produced in Gyanja is processed, now two production lines operate here and produce up to 2,4 thou tons of aluminum per a months (about 30 thou tons per a year). On September 2004 and March 2005 else two lines are planned for putting into operation and this will allow to bring the aluminum production up to 60 thou tons annually. Allocating $25 MM is planned for modernization of two lines.
The Holland Fondel Metals International B.V. started managing the JC "Azeraluminium" since 2001. The company obliged to invest $1 bn in the aluminium complex of Azerbaijan during 25 years, and $500 of the total - during the first 5 years.
FOR EIGHT MONTHS THE MONEY INCOMES OF THE POPULATION OF AZERBAIJAN GREW ALMOST BY 13%
By data of the State Statistic Department of the country the money incomes per capita for the current period increased by 11.9% and made 1MM 849.9 thou manats.
The main part of the means was spent by the population on purchasing goods - 63,6%, payments for rendering services - 12,9%, taxes and all possible fees - 3.7%.
THE SITTING OF THE AZERBAIJAN-AMERICAN WORKING GROUP ON THE ECONOMIC COOPERATION HAS BEEN POSTPONED BY THE END OF THE YEAR
"This will be the second sitting of the working group in this year. By plans, it should be held on September, however, the sides decided to conduct it later", - the source in the Ministry of Finance has noted.
By his words, the agenda of the sitting should be discussed, however, as a whole it will include questions of assistance to Azerbaijan in development of small and middle business, insurance, agricultural sector and other trends.
The Minister of Finance Mr. Avaz Alekperov is the chairman of the working group from the Azerbaijan side. In accordance with terms, the working group should be gathered no less than two times per a year. The first sitting of the working group was held on May 15, 200 in Baku.
CO-CHAIRMEN OF THE MINSK GROUP OF OSCE WILL DISCUSS SITUATION AROUND THE NAGORNY KARABAKH WITH THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA
Mr. Merzlyakov has expressed his satisfaction by results of the meeting between the French and American colleagues on the Minsk Group held on September in Vienna. He reported that it would be possible to tell about terms of joint visit of co-chairmen to the conflict region only after completion of the President Elections in Azerbaijan planned by October 15.
The Russian co-chairmen also noted that a number of mass-media of Armenia perverted his words about necessity of attaching Nagorny Karabakh to talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia on adjusting the conflict. "I simply noted willingness of this . However, all depends on opinions of sides, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the co-chairmen", - Mr. Merzlyakov has noted.
BP IS READY FOR ALLOCATION OF CREDIT BY A TOTAL OF $500 MM TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MEP BAKU - TBILISI - CEYHAN
The organizations, which will allocate credits and ensure the project, are divided by four groups, he has said. The ERDB and IFC, which will allocate their own means and provide also guarantees for credits of the commercial banks enter into the first group.
The export-credit agencies, which will provide guarantees to the commercial banks for financing the materials and equipment deliveries from the USA, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy and France joint into the second group. The commercial banks form the third group (their number varies from 10 up to 30), and the large companies-creditors including BP, Statoil form the fourth group.
A cost of the the construction of the MEP makes $2.95 bn, 30% of them are own means of the companies-shareholders of the project, 70% - credits. Initially it was supposed to receive credits on May - June 2003, however, delays in the project realization postponed their allocation up to November. The companies decided to continue the financing in account of inner reserves, what would require up to $800 MM.
A length of the pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan makes 1767 km, 443 km - by the territory of Azerbaijan, 248 km by the territory of Georgia, 1076 km - by the territory of Turkey. The capacity of the pipeline will make 50 MM tons of oil per a year. The construction works started on April, 2003 and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2004. The Azerbaijan oil exportation from the port Ceyhan (Turkey) is planned by the second quarter 2005. A cost of the project is $2.95 bn.
The following companies are shareholders of the project: BP (30.1%), the SOCAR (25%), Unocal (8.9%), Statoil (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), Eni (5%), Itochu (3.4%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%), INPEX (2.5%), TotalFinaElf (5%) and Amerada Hess (2.36%).
9 WELLS WOULD BE DRILLED AGAIN ON THE FIELD "WEST AZERI" FOR SHIFT OF THE DRILLING STRINGS
We shall remind that "the bag drilling" of these wells has been completed still on August. Totally four thou meters have been drilled.
Now the JC "AzeriFugro" started a drilling of three geotechnological wells in this part of the field "Azeri" for clearing up causes of the shift of the drilling string. The researches are conducted from the SSDR "Dede Gorgud". A depth of the geotecnological wells will not exceed 200 m. "The results of studies will help to experts not only to understand cause of strings shift, but determine a new place for the bag drilling continuation", - the source has noted.
The source also has noted that now it is known already that shift of the strings has occurred not for a fault of the drilling contractor, and there were not problems on the drilling technique. The main cause is the geological factor.
The repeated drilling in the "West Azeri" will start in five months. By this time the base support will be installed here. In answer to the question about possibility of using the old base support, the interlocutor of Media-Press: said that the construction and installing new plate will cost the same as lifting the old one and its transportation to a new place. It will not affect on terms of the project realization, he has noted. All works were conducted in advance of the schedule.
While the SSDR "Dede Gorgud" will be transported to the field "Central Azeri" for continuation of drilling works. We shall remind that the advanced drilling program on the "West Azeri" provides sinking of ten wells (nine operating and one for drilling mud pumping),
IN THE END OF SEPTEMBER THE JAPANESE CONSORTIUM AND THE SOCAR WILL DETERMINE A DESTINY OF THE PROJECT "ATESHGYAKH - YANAN-TAVA - MUGAN - DENIZ"
As Mr. Kotaro Morishita, the Chief of the Baku Office of the company Itochu Oil has told, the delegation will conduct negotiations with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).The first exploring well drilled in the unit will become a matter to be discussed. "We should determine jointly with the SOCAR, either we execute our contract duties or no. Then it would be possible to solve a problem of the project's future", - he has declared.
As Media-Press has informed, JAOC drilled two wells the mentioned unit. The first well was constructed in the structure "Yanan-Tava", however drilling was not completed for geological difficulties and stopped on a level of 4715 meters (the project depth 5050 meters).
The sinking of the second well was conducted from the self-lifting floating drilling rig "Gurtulush". It is situated at a distance of 20 km on the field "Ateshgyakh". The project depth of the well made 5500 meters. It has been completed else on February of this year. After interpretation of the received data the consortium has declared that commercial supplies of the hydrogen carbonates have not been discovered and since this the JAOC stopped its operations in Azerbaijan.
As the drilling of the first exploring well has not been completed, the SOCAR believes that the consortium did not carry out its duties and so it should drill else one well.
Media-Press: The total square of the contract block including structures Ateshgyakh - Yanan-Tava - Mugan-Deniz" makes 510 square km, a depth of the sea varies from 20 up to 100 meters, the productive oil-bearing beds were discovered at a depth from 2 up to 4 thou meters. The supplies of the area are estimated in 75 - 90 MM tons of oil, the investments in the project should make about $2.9 bn. The contract on it has been signed between the SOCAR, which received 50% of sharing and the Consortium of the Japanese companies on December 25, 1998. Here to companies joined in the Japanese Consortium: Japex (the operator of the project, 22.5%), Inpex (12.5%), Teikoku (7.5%) and Itochu (7.5%). The Japanese National Oil Corporation (JNOC) appeared the project organizer, the risks insurant and risks guarant, which will redeem 50% of the consortium expenses. Moreover, the JNOC should receive 2/3 of the earnings of all the Japanese companies joined in the consortium - 66%
ON OCTOBER EXXON MOBIL WILL START THE DRILLING OT THE FIRST EXPLORING WELL ON THE AZERBAIJAN OFFSHORE UNIT "ZAFAR-MASHAL"
The drilling will be carried out from the semisubmersible floating drilling rig "Leader". By the words of Mr. Dreau Goodberd, now testing the drilling rig is conducted and it will be completed during two-three weeks. Then the SSDR will be delivered to the drilling point.
The unit "Zafar Mashal" is situated in the Caspian Sea at a distance of 130 km from the South-East from Baku. The contract area makes 643 square km, a depth of the sea varies from 450 up to 950 meters. It makes 618 meters in the area of construction of the first exploring well. The main goal of the drilling is opening of the "Break Suite" and the eighth horizonts of the "Balakhan Suite". Before choosing the place of the well construction, the JCf Caspian Geophysical, founded by the SOCAr and transnational Schlumberger conducted three-dimensional exploration (3D) in the area of 850 square km.
The structure "Zafar-Mashal" was discovered in result of the seismic explorations in 1961, and the first geophysical works there were conducted in 1985 and 1987. In accordance with the contract, during the exploration period the contractor is obliged to conduct three-dimensional exploration and drill 2 exploration wells.
The contract on "Zafar-Mashal" was signed on April 27 1999 in the USA. The sharings have been distributed in following way: the SOCAR - 50%, the American companies ExxonMobil - 30% and Conoco - 20%. The total of investments to the project are estimated approximately by $2 bn and predicted oil supplies by 140 MM tons, and 100 MM tons of them are in "Zafar" and 40 MM in "Mashal".
BP STARTED THE MODERNIZATION OF THE ZIKH PLANT, WHERE MODULES OF THE OFFSHORE PLATFORMS OF TPG-500 TYPE WILL BE MOUNTED
As to the construction of the platform, which is conducted by the company Keppel Fels in Singapore, it goes on in accordance with the schedule.
The realization of the project "Shakh-Deniz" by a cost of $3.2 bn was permitted on February of this year. Realization of two projects is supposed on the first stage. The first includes development, production and transportation of gas and extension of the Sangachal terminal. The second - the construction of the export South-Caucasus gas pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Erzurum.
The project on development and production includes the construction of the offshore platform TPG-500, which allow drilling up to 15 wells from it. The drilling will be conducted at the sea depth of 105 meters. The extension of the Sangachal terminal is planned by the fourth quarter of this year. In the second quarter of 2004 the laying of the gas pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Erzurum will start, and the first deliveries of the Azerbaijan gas to Turkey will start in the third quarter of 2006.
Five wells will be drilled from the platform TPG-500 and two underwater pipelines will be laid (to the Sangachal oil terminal), with a length of each by 100 km: 20-inch for gas and 12-inch for the condensate.
As it is expected the supplies of the field on the first stage of the development will be on a level of 178 bn cubic meters of gas and 34 MM tons of condensate. And the average annual debits will make 8.4 bn cubic meters of gas and 2 MM tons of condensate.
The following companies are the shareholders of the project: the British-American BP (the operator of the project - 25.5%), the Norwegian Statoil (25.5), the Turkish TPAO (9), the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, the Italian-Russian joint company LUCAgip, the French Total SA (the former TotalFinalElf) and OIEC (all of them have by 10%).
IN ACCORDANCE WITH PREDICTS, IN 2004 THE STATE OIL COMPANY OF AZERBAIJAN WILL PRODUCE 8.8 MM TONS OF OIL
By the words of Mr. I. Rzabekov, the oil deliveries to the state will make about 8.7 MM tons as 100 - 120 thou tons of oil go to the inner needs of the SOCAR and natural losses.
In answer to a question about little volumes of the exploring drilling, Mr. I. Rzabekov has noted that the "SOCAR has not introduced new oil fields and does not plan this for the next years, as the contracts on all perspective areas have been concluded with the foreign companies. And conduction of exploring drilling on the old fields is not profitable as the exploration well requires investments in three - four times more than the working one".
As to possibilities of gas production increase, by the words Mr. I. Rzabekov, there are perspective structures in Azerbaijan where drilling is required, e.g. the field "Guneshli" (the shallow area), where the productive horizons are available.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNDERWATER GAS PIPELINE BAKHAR - NEFT DASHLARI (OIL ROCKS) HAS BEEN COMPLETED BY 80%
The new gas pipeline has not been designed for increasing gas transportation volumes from the field "Guneshli", but reduction of pressure on the parallel operating 20-inches pipeline. The new pipeline would allow possibility of redistribution of the gas transportation volumes - approximately by 250 thou cubic meters per a day.
As to significant increasing gas transportation from "Guneshli" the construction of else one gas pipeline of high pressure would be required. By the words of Mr. I. Rzabekov, such project exists and is on the planning stage.
A capacity of new gas pipeline Bakhar - Neft Dashlari makes 5.5 MM cubic meters per a day. Its construction will cost $32 MM.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE OFFSHORE STATIONARY PLATFORM (OSP) N13 IN THE SHALLOW-WATER PART OF THE FIELD "GUNESHLI" OF THE AZERBAIJAN CASPIAN SHELF WILL BE COMPLETED IN THE BEGINNING OF 2004
Now modules and electric equipment mounting is carried out on the constructed platform. It consists of seven units-modules, which were returned to Azerbaijan from Astrakhan only in 2001. During 10 years the Russian side kept them for unsolving of the property relations with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. The technical conditions of the returned modules was recognized unsatisfactory, so the SOCAR was forced to invest means in their modernization.
By the end of 2004 it is planned to start drilling wells from the OSP-13. 8 gas wells and 12 oil ones will be drilled from it. It is expected that monthly 2.3 MM cubic meters of gas will be produced from the platform. The volumes of oil production are determined for the present.
Before this the SOCAR has enlarged the production platform N14 in the shallow part of the field "Guneshli". It is supposed to drill 12 wells from this platform. This will allow increasing the daily production volume on "Guneshli" from 16 up to 18 thou tons of oil by 2004.
We shall remind that today 65% of all the Azerbaijan oil or 83% of the sea oil of Azerbaijan are produced on the shallow part of the field "Guneshli". The supplies of the field are estimated by 94 - 135 MM tons of oil.
