"I would like to emphasize our successful partnership with the Azerbaijani government and SOCAR,” he said. “I am proud to say that we have established one of our most successful partnerships in Azerbaijan, which affects the energy map of the world. BP is committed to its policy of supporting the development of local companies. Today, there are about 250 local companies in Azerbaijan, which are involved in the projects, operated by BP."
He said that BP intends to stay in Azerbaijan for decades.
Significant success has been achieved there, but the future seems to be even more optimistic, said Birrell.
Such large ongoing projects as Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli, Shah Deniz, Southern Gas Corridor, as well as the new projects – Shafag-Asiman and exploration in the shallow waters of the Absheron peninsula will create even more opportunities for Azerbaijani companies in coming years, he added.
Birrell noted that BP continues intense work on all projects.
The exploration period in the Shafag-Asiman field will take 4-5 years, and currently, work is underway on planning the first exploration well, he said.
Seismic surveys will start in January 2016 at the potentially promising structures in the shallow waters of the Absheron peninsula, Birrell added.
The territory, covered by the production sharing agreement between SOCAR and BP to carry out development and exploration work in shallow waters of the Absheron peninsula, stretches along the southern part of Absheron and covers an area of around 1,900 square kilometers.
The sea depth on this area is up to 40 meters, while the depth of the potentially productive strata is 3,000-5,000 meters.
The share of BP and SOCAR in the agreement is 50 percent, each.
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