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Norwegian Equinor company considers cooperation with Azerbaijan as a priority, a source in the company told local media

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic SOCAR and Equinor signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) on March 30.

"The issues arising from the plans for the development of the Karabakh field were discussed during the meeting of SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and Head of the representative office of Equinor company in Azerbaijan Fawad Quraishi," the source said.

Furthermore, during the meeting, Equinor and SOCAR exchanged the views on potential cooperation in new spheres, including HSE.

"We have several projects that we continue to work on, such as Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) and the recently discovered Karabakh fields,” the source added. “Today, we are cooperating with SOCAR on a project to develop the Karabakh oil field in Azerbaijan."

During the meeting, SOCAR and Equinor signed a new cooperation agreement to strengthen interaction in the field of HSE.

"Equinor considers cooperation with Azerbaijan a priority and we hope for further joint work with SOCAR in this sphere," the source said.

SOCAR and Equinor have confirmed a discovery of the Karabakh oil field located 120 kilometers offshore, east of Baku, in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.

Drilling of the first appraisal well at the Karabakh oil field was launched on December 23, 2019. The well was drilled in a water depth of 180 meters by the Dada Gorgud semi-submersible drilling rig operated by SOCAR’s Caspian Drilling Company (CDC). The reservoir is at a depth of approximately 3.4 kilometers.

The discovered volumes of oil and gas are satisfactory for pursuing commercial development of the Karabakh field. The preliminary estimated geological reserves of the field reach more than 60 million tons.