BP plans six new gas wells to sustain output from Azeri Caspian Sea field

BP plans to add six new wells to its operation in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea to ensure stable production in the years ahead, a senior manager at the international energy major told Reuters.

BP currently operates 21 gas wells in Shah Deniz, which is developed by a BP-led consortium and which is critical to Azerbaijan's commitment to boost gas exports to the European Union, providing an alternative to dwindling Russian supplies.

Under a 2022 deal, Azerbaijan is expected to double its exports to the EU to at least 20 billion cubic metres a year by 2027.

Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli BP's vice president for the Caspian region, told Reuters in an interview that last year the field's output increased to around 28 billion cubic metres in 2024 from around 26 bcm in 2023. Current output averaged 76 million cubic metres per day, while the field's total capacity was 79 million cubic metres per day.

"We plan to put into production six more wells in this field in the coming years, which will help maintain a plateau for several years," he said.

Last month, gas flows from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria and Serbia were halted for several days due to a technical problem with the subsea condensate export pipeline connecting the Shah Deniz Alpha platform, one of two platforms at Shah Deniz, to the Sangachal terminal.

Aslanbayli said the company did not plan to stop platforms for planned maintenance this year.

BP, which also produces oil in Azerbaijan, last year started production at a new Azeri Central East (ACE) offshore platform in the Caspian Sea. The new development aims to help counter a decline in output at the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli (ACG) complex of offshore oilfields, also operated by BP, which has passed its peak of 50 million metric tons, or 1 million barrels per day (bpd), in 2010.

Azerbaijan's oil output is expected to be 29 million tons per year both in 2024 and 2025, or 580,000 bpd.

Aslanbayli said АСЕ produced 4 million barrels (10,000 bpd on average) in 2024 and it will increase output as more wells are drilled in 2025.

"This is helpful, as we work to slow down the natural decline and maximize recovery from ACG," he said.