Today marks 30th anniversary of Shah Deniz project

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the development project of the Shah Deniz field, located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, Report informs referring to the field's operator, BP Azerbaijan.

This is an important milestone for the government of Azerbaijan, BP, and Shah Deniz partners.

30 years ago, on June 4, 1996, the Shah Deniz Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) was signed in Baku between SOCAR and a group of foreign companies. The PSA was ratified by the Milli Majlis and became effective on October 17, the same year.

Shah Deniz is one of the largest gas-condensate fields in the world and the largest gas discovery ever made by BP.

For almost 20 years, Shah Deniz has proved to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey through the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP).

With the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) in December 2020, Shah Deniz has become a new source of energy supply for Europe, providing natural gas from the Caspian to European customers thousands of miles away.

The discovery and development of Shah Deniz have underpinned Azerbaijan's increasing role as a major regional and international gas supplier, adding to the country's oil and gas revenues for decades to come. The project has brought the largest foreign direct investment to Azerbaijan and further strengthened the country's economy. Azerbaijan has gained new onshore assets, offshore facilities end export infrastructure – all built to international standards using advanced technology.

The Shah Deniz 30th anniversary marks an important milestone in the new history of Azerbaijan's oil and gas industry. It is also a historical date for SOCAR, BP, and all other partners in the Shah Deniz PSA.

Shah Deniz is located in the deep-water shelf of the Caspian Sea, 70 km south-east of Baku, in water depths ranging from 50 to 600 meters. The giant field stretches out over 140 square kilometers.

Shah Deniz was discovered in 1999 - with approximately 1 trillion cubic metres of gas and 2 billion barrels of condensate initially in place.

First production from Shah Deniz was achieved in 2006, reaching its 20-year milestone this year. On December 17, 2013, the Shah Deniz consortium announced the final investment decision (FID) for the Shah Deniz 2 development. The second phase of the Shah Deniz development came online in 2018.