CORE STORE GOLDEN ASSET OF AZERBAIJAN
Caspian Energy: Rafiga khanum, which role does the presence of core store play for Azerbaijan oil industry?
General manager of AzLab CJSC Rafiga Huseinzadeh: - Core store is a strategically important asset for Azerbaijan. Any country of the world involved in exploration and development of mineral resources regards an available core store as a necessity. This service is important for further saving of means for prospecting, development and assessment of production both from the new and old wells.
As AzLab is currently studying and analyzing big volume of core, we want to store it for Azerbaijan. Therefore we have built a core store with our own means. We could have invested these means for other purposes of AzLab's development. Today only about 2,000 meters out of 1.3 mln of core is left in Azerbaijan. I don't know where the core is, maybe a part of it has been exported, a part is simply not stored. But I know that our Azerbaijan core was not duly regarded. For me, as a geologist, core store is the golden asset of Azerbaijan. You know why? Because, when investors come to us for information, we provide them with profiles, maps and other geological data. That is, in today's highly competitive market conditions, a potential investor undertaking a risk must be provided with authentic and checked information. In this case he can receive means successfully from the international fund for development of oil and gas resources. Before a serious investor decides to invest in drilling or exploration operations, he will require a vivid proof for available research of core and if possible, drilling mud and fluid samples to check the information provided. Investor simply says - give me a clear idea, and then I will decide to invest or not. And core is the very physical and clear idea in the given case. Reliable and easily available core, mud and other geological data suppose proper and accurate storage of these materials in a single centralized core store with adequate facilities to study them.
At the intense competitive conditions for drawing interest and assets, risk assessment is particularly important for investors. Though a country cannot guarantee success of this or that well or field, it may provide stability through firm regulatory provisions, respect to the partner and favorable attitude to business.
The risk of exploration works may be also reduced by making the core and samples available for physical study. Seismic surveys and carotage diagrams of wells are similar to road maps. They provide directions for exploration-survey programs. At the same time, core and samples from the earlier drilled wells are physical evidences.
Besides, the core store offers all kinds of services to the clients - research, storage, interpretation and other services at the international level.
To what extent is the future of the core store provided?
- This is the first core store built in the Caspian region. It has been built under the design of leading Canadian experts of the world-famous Datacon company and can store 15,000 meters of core, oil and gas samples. All the requirements of oil companies were met during the construction - over 50 piles were driven in and 100 tons of armature was spent at laying foundation of the core store. Totally the foundation spent about $100,000 and the general core store construction - about $500,000.
The core house is built for long term and for future generations of our Azerbaijan. The contract with BP company - for which we analyze a big volume of core - has been concluded for long-term, till 2024. There has not been any such long-term contract in the BP's history.
AzLab has analyzed oil from the first well in the Chirag field. Analyzes were run also in the Azeri, Shah Deniz and other fields. SOCAR samples, as well as samples of different consortia working in Azerbaijan are kept at the core store. Currently AzLab has perspective contracts with ExxonMobil (for Zafar-Mashal) and LUKoil (Yalama). The company also receives samples for analyzes from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Besides, AzLab is going to store oil and gas samples, drilling mud and other rocks.
What importance does the core store have for Azerbaijan?
- Presently, at exploration works, available core and data study becomes the major instrument for running business and developing the field. But before the centralized core store was established, these potential opportunities were missed or left in private, usually foreign hands.
Creation of a well-organized regional or national core store means for the rest of the world that Azerbaijan is open for business. This means that Azerbaijan highly regards its national resources and keeps them within its territory. This will allow to increase long-term investment flow to our country's energy future.