The First Well on the Offshore Block in Kazakhstan, Where the Azerbaijani SSDR Was Used, Turned Out to be “Dry”
The first well on the Zhenis offshore block in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea turned out to be “dry”, Upstream writes.
Well V-1 had a target depth of 3,300 meters. Drilling began at the end of last year using the Dada Gorgud jack-up drilling rig of the Azerbaijani state-owned Caspian Drilling Company. According to maritime traffic monitoring services, the jack-up vessel returned to its mooring place near Baku in April, the newspaper notes.
Neither KazMunayGas nor LUKOIL, which is involved in the project, reported drilling results, but Upstream sources indicated a negative result.
The chief executive of the joint venture Zhenis Operating confirmed to Upstream that the drilling had been completed, but added that it was “the responsibility of the shareholders” to comment on the results of the drilling.
In mid-March, the director of the department of geology and exploration of KazMunayGas (KMG) Nurlan Konysov reported that drilling had reached 1080 meters, and promising formations had not yet been discovered.
KMG did not respond to Interfax’s request, and LUKOIL did not comment on the results of drilling.
The Zhenis structure is located on the site of the same name, which is located in the southern part of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. The water depth in the drilling area is about 98 m. The nearest distance to the shore is 50 km.
The project operator Zhenis Operating LLP is a joint venture between KazMunayGas (50%) and LUKOIL (50%). The contract for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons was signed on April 1, 2019. The minimum commitment is to drill one exploration well and conduct 3D seismic surveys, for which it is planned to allocate about $60 million. The second stage of work is estimated at $210 million.
