SOCAR and Norwegian company Equinor confirmed the discovery of the Karabakh oil and gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, 120 kilometers east of Baku, Trend reports citing SOCAR.

According to information, the drilling of the first appraisal well in the Karabakh field began on December 23, 2019. It was drilled by the Dede Gorgud floating rig at a depth of 180 meters. Productive strata of the field are located at a depth of 3.4 kilometers. According to preliminary estimates, the volumes of oil and gas found in the field are sufficient for its cost-effective development.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said that Karabakh was the first oil and gas field discovered during the country’s independence: “Preliminary estimated geological reserves of the field are more than 60 million tons of oil. Successful, safe and timely delivery of the estimated well to the depth is the result of joint efforts of SOCAR and Equinor. Development of the Karabakh field will make a significant contribution to Azerbaijan’s oil revenues. ”

A consortium led by the Caspian International Petroleum Company (CIPCO) drilled 3 exploratory wells in accordance with the 1995 “Agreement on the Sharing of the Share of the Karabakh Production”. Two wells confirmed that the layers in the southeastern part of the structure were saturated with gas, and one well showed that the layers in the western part of the structure were saturated with oil and gas. The agreement was canceled in 1999 as an economically inefficient project.

In May 2018, SOCAR Karabakh and Equinor signed an Agreement on servicing risks for the development of the Karabakh oil field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian. According to the agreement, companies have an equal share.

Since 1994, SOCAR and Statoil (Equinor) have been collaborating on a number of important projects, including the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil fields.