TODAY.AZ / Business

Azerbaijan’s SOFAZ continues funding of floating drilling rig project

03 May 2016 [14:26] - TODAY.AZ

/By Azernews/

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Azerbaijan’s state oil fund has issued $718.6 million to fund construction of a new generation floating drilling rig in Azerbaijan since the project launch.

The Fund told Trend that $22.6 million was issued for the project in the first quarter of 2016.

The project cost hits $1,117 billion. The drilling operator is "Caspian Drilling Company" (CDC), in which SOCAR owns 92.44-percent share. The Singaporean Keppel FELS Limited was chosen as the contractor of the drilling rig's construction.

SOFAZ owns 90 percent share in "Azerbaijan Rigs" LLC, created for the construction of a new platform, while the state oil company SOCAR owns the remaining 10 percent share.

The new rig will be designed to drill wells up to 8,000 meters at the depth of 1,000 meters. The new rig can be commissioned in early 2017.

The rig will be used for drilling of prospective structures and fields in Azerbaijan, such as the Umid field and such perspective structures as Babek, Karabakh, Ashrafi and others.

Azerbaijan needs to construct four new floating drilling rigs, taking into account the implementation of big projects in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

Azerbaijan needs to construct four new floating drilling rigs, taking into the consideration the extensive projects in Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, in particular drilling at the perspective Babek structure, the development of Absheron gas and condensate field, implementation of the second phase of development of Shah Deniz gas and condensate field and implementation of other projects.

SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million. In accordance with SOFAZ's regulations, its funds may be used for the construction and reconstruction of strategically important infrastructure facilities, as well as, solving important national problems of Azerbaijan.

So far, SOFAZ has funded many strategic projects for Azerbaijan including the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Southern Gas Corridor, Oil and Gas processing and Petrochemical Complex, as well as, Samur-Absheron irrigation system, Oguz-Gabala water pipeline and State Program on education Azerbaijani youth abroad.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/150355.html

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