GAS OF AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan is one of the world's unique regions where as from the old times people have used natural gas blowouts to burn limestone and cook meal.
The application of gas in Azerbaijan for heating steam-boilers dates back to 1859. In the year 1902 to 1906 six gas lines made of cast iron running from the wells in Surakhany to the settlement of Balakhany were laid to use the gas for heating.
In the 30's in Azerbaijan a work was launched for the regional power stations, oil processing facilities, industrial boiler-houses, etc., to be switched over to using gas as a fuel.
In 1848 in the former Soviet Union the putting of a closed oil/gas well exploitation system into practice was begun for the first time. It allowed to minimize gas losses.
A new era in the history of the republic's gas upstream industry started in 1954 by discovering a gas-condensate deposit in the Karadag field. The discovery was followed by striking gas and gas condensate in the Kalmas, Zyrya, Duvanny, Yuzhnaya, Bakhar, Duvanny-deniz, Bulla-deniz areas and others. The discoveries showed that Azerbaijan's bowels of the earth were rich in not only oil but gas.
The following figures say about the pace of development of the republic's gas upstream industry : if in 1922 only 26 million cubic meters of gas were produced, as early as 1940 the output hit 2.5 billion cubic meters, in 1965 gas production rose to 6.2 billion cubic meters and in 1982 the production level edged up to 14.9 billion cubic meters.
A high rate of gas production and the construction of main gas lines enabled to gasify Azerbaijan's towns, villages and industrial enterprises. In 1988 in the republic more than 1.3 millions of apartments were provided with gas , including 900,000 accommodations were supplied with natural gas. Gas flew to the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan. More than 750 production facilities and about 13,000 social and municipal enterprises providing public utilities used natural gas as feedstock and fuel.
Unfortunately, because of hostilities in Azerbaijan's provinces bordering on Armenia and the occupation of a part of the republic's territory, the works have been suspended.
Slathers of gas reserves found in the republic gave a great incentive to the development of the republic's oil upstream and downstream industry. The questions of the combined use of natural gas were decided in the 60's. The process was launched with the construction in the 60's of the Azerbaijan gas processing plant and the commissioning of a petrochemical facility in Sumgait. A joint processing of gas and instable condensate allowed to supply the republic's new chemicals producing facilities with valuable feedstock, on the basis of which the output of tens of kinds of chemicals was built up.
For reliable gas supply of the country's population and power stations especially in the fall/winter season of every year it is necessary to lay in a stock of gas. For this purpose two underground gas storage facilities have been built in the areas of Kalmas and Karadag and they are now operational.
But that given all of the gas/condensate deposits currently in production were developed without paying attention to a fall of the reservoir pressure to nothing and new deposits have not been entered since 1983, domestic gas production started to drop. Only 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas were produced in 1998.
After the Chirag contract area offshore was put into operation in November 1997 and the capacity of a gas compressor station built by Pennzoil company in the Neft Dashlary field was increased from 4.2 to 5.6 million cubic meters of gas handled per day, the gas delivery onto shore rose from the oil fields of Guneshli and Chirag through the undersea gas pipelines. The domestic gas production was maintained at the same levels and even somewhat stepped up in current year. As a result, SOCAR's two production associations for the first time in recent years surpassed their gas production targets more than planned.
This year a well in the Shahdeniz contract area offshore was drilled to a record depth from the Istiglal and Dada Gorgud semi-submersible drilling rigs. It reached and opened up the eight and tenth horizons of the Balakhany Suite and Pereriv Suite. The mammoth gas and condensate reserves (and probably there is an oil fringe as well) have been proved by testing the exploratory well. These deposits will enable for many years not only to meet the republic's internal needs but to export natural gas in large quantities to world market, above all, Turkey. It should be suggested that large reserves of gas/condensate can also be stricken in the lower lying horizons of the field.
Given a find of significant gas reserves in the fields of Shahdeniz, Chirag, Azeri and Guneshli and the results of testing appraisal wells drilled in the Karabakh, Ashrafi and Dan Ulduzu areas as well as an increased chance of their hitting in the promising structures both on land and in a significant part of the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea, one may speak with confidence that in the next few years Azerbaijan is able to sharply boost gas production and become one of main suppliers of the kind of this fuel in the region. It will give a great impact on development of many industries in Azerbaijan.
In accordance with an instruction given by Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev when discussing the test results from the exploratory well drilled in the Shahdeniz field, SOCAR in conjunction with another organizations concerned are to work out soon a long-term program for the streamlined use of gas reserves in the unique field and all the republic as a whole.
R.Dadashev, in charge of oil
and chemistry department for Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers,
Dr. of Geology and Mineralogy Science.