Rystad Energy: Validation of Shah Deniz Phase 3 reserves may take several years

The development of Shah Deniz Phase 3 is still a long way off, BP has plans to drill an exploration well on the Shah Deniz Deep prospect, Rystad Energy’s upstream analyst Swapnil Babele told Report.

The exploration and subsequent appraisal drilling to validate the additional gas reserves in the Shah Deniz structure could take a few years, he noted.

The operator is currently focused on drilling the wells on the Shafaq Asiman and Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula blocks, the analyst said.

The field’s development will also be influenced by the availability of export infrastructure, as the country plans to commission major gas condensate fields such as Absheron, Umid-Babek, and others in the coming years (currently, the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) has a capacity of only 16 bcm, and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has a capacity of 10 bcm, with further expansions planned), Babele noted.

As Shah Deniz phase-2 reaches its plateau production levels, it plans to produce up to 25 billion cubic meters of gas over the next few years, he said.

BP sees Azerbaijan as a key element of its portfolio, and the supermajor has planned some exploration and field development (ACG East) in the next few years, he added.