Statoil not only has a 25.5% interest in the Shah Deniz large gas and condensate field, but also operates and has a 20.4% interest in the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC). UK oil titan BP operates the Shah Deniz field.
Statoil’s role as operator of AGSC means that it is responsible for the sale of phase one Shah Deniz gas. According to Statoil, phase one at peak production will have an annual output of around 8.6 billion cubic meters of gas.
The South Caucasus Pipeline, of which BP is the technical operator, follows the same route as the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan oil pipeline as far as the border between Georgia and Turkey. First transport through the pipeline began in autumn 2006.
Statoil said that Turkish firm Botas, buyer of the gas in Turkey, takes over responsibility for transport of the gas at the Turkish border. A new pipeline has been constructed as far as the city of Erzurum, linking in with the existing Turkish gas grid.
This is a milestone for Statoil’s international production, sale and marketing of gas from Azerbaijan, said Jan Heiberg, vice president of Statoil’s gas operations in Azerbaijan. It is also a special day for Statoil as AGSC’s operator, in that all buyers of Shah Deniz gas are now taking gas.
Statoil said that Azerbaijan and Georgia already receive gas from the field, while the bulk of Shah Deniz gas is sold to Turkey.
