BP expects FID approval for new platform project at Shah Deniz by 2025-end

BP Azerbaijan expects to make the final investment decision (FID) on the Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) unmanned compression platform construction project at the Shah Deniz field by the end of 2025, BP Azerbaijan's spokesperson Tamam Bayatly said, Report informs.

"BP has prepared an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report for the SDC platform construction project. The document will be open for public discussion for 60 days, and then, considering the submitted comments, it will be presented to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. After the document is approved by the Azerbaijani government, the final investment decision (FID) on project implementation will be made. The FID is expected to be made in the second half of this year, closer to the end of the year," Bayatly said at the ESIA Report public hearings held on February 18 in Baku.

She added that by the time of FID, the project cost, contractors, and construction sites will be determined.

The ESIA report provides information about the current state of the environmental and social environment, as well as forecasts of the project's impact on ecology, and describes measures to minimize and reduce potential environmental and population impacts.

The document indicates that to reduce offshore maintenance, the SDC platform is designed as a simplified electrified facility operating predominantly without personnel. Impact sources are minimized: no sanitary and domestic waste, cooled and formation water, fire water, or foam will be discharged from the platform. Additionally, there is no flaring, single-use closed drains, or pigging equipment for topside facilities. The platform is designed exclusively for compression equipment, without drilling operations.

The main SDC project works will be performed offshore in the Shah Deniz contract area. Onshore activities will be limited to installing the Sangachal terminal's onshore section to the shore and constructing the jacket, topsides, and subsea infrastructure at existing construction sites previously used for Shah Deniz and Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli projects. It is estimated that by 2027, about 2,600 people will be employed in the SDC project construction.

The SDC platform does not require permanent maintenance personnel, so only a limited number of specialists will be involved during the operational phase. The overall socio-economic impact of the SDC project, including job creation during construction, installation, and commissioning phases, is assessed as positive. Due to the absence of significant emission sources (autonomous operation, no drilling, formation and cooling water discharge, etc.), post-installation and operational monitoring is not planned.

However, regional environmental studies in the Shah Deniz contract area will be conducted every five years. Positive aspects are related to job creation, training and skills development, and provision of goods and services. Residual environmental and socio-economic impacts are determined as insignificant, low, or moderate.

Risk mitigation and monitoring measures have been developed and discussed, deemed sufficient for effective impact management throughout the project.

The project includes: construction of the electrically-powered unmanned compression platform "Shah Deniz Compression," laying infield subsea gas pipelines for gas export/import from existing platforms "Shah Deniz Alpha" (SDA) and "Shah Deniz Bravo" (SDB), and laying electrical and fiber optic cables for SDC power supply and backup power for SDA and SDB platforms.

The Shah Deniz Compression platform will be installed 10 km from the Shah Deniz Alpha platform and 3 km from the Shah Deniz Bravo platform at a water depth of 85 meters. Gas produced from Shah Deniz Alpha and Shah Deniz Bravo platforms will first go to the new platform for compression, then to the Sangachal terminal.

The first low-pressure gas from the Shah Deniz field is expected in mid-2029. This project is planned to access and produce low-pressure gas reserves and maximize the recovery of these reserves in the Shah Deniz contract area.