Azerbaijan Oil Contracts
Chevron

Absheron

Jon Connor General Manager

On August 1, 1997, Chevron and SOCAR signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Absheron block in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The ceremony took place in the White House, Washington DC, in the presence of Azerbaijan's President Heydar Aliyev and U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The project was ratified by parliament on November 11, 1997, and became effective on December 5, 1997. The Absheron prospect, a deep-water geologic structure approximately 60 km southeast off the coast of Azerbaijan is potentially one of the largest hydrocarbon structures in the Caspian basin. Chevron (30%) is the operator in the consortium of two other companies-Total (20%) from France and Azerbaijan's national oil company, SOCAR (50%).

Signed August 1,1997
Ratified November 11,1997

Map: Click to enlarge

In 1998, Chevron completed a seismic Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and soon they are planning to conduct a 3D seismic survey over the contract area. The data will be processed and interpreted during 1998-1999 to select the location of the first exploration well. A geohazard survey over this location and the drilling EIA will take place in 1999. Drilling is scheduled within the initial three-year exploration period.

The size of the Absheron Block is 400 sq km. Sea depths range between 400-500 meters. Drilling depths are expected to range between 4,000-7,100 meters.

Chevron (operator)

ISR Plaza
340 Nizami St.
Tel: 97-13-39
Fax: 97-13-53
ismm@chevron.com
www.chevron.com


From Azerbaijan International (6.2) Summer 1998.
© Azerbaijan International 1998. All rights reserved.

Socar Contracts
Back to Index AI 6.2 (Summer 1998)
AI Home | Magazine Choice | Topics | Store | Contact us