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Autumn 1997 (5.3)
Nakhchivan Field Exxon Exploration and Production Azerbaijan Ltd signed an agreement with SOCAR on August 1, 1997 in Washington, D.C. The signing ceremony took place in the White House during President Heydar Aliyev's official visit to the United States. The contract was signed in the presence of Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and President Aliyev.
The contract defines exploration, development and production sharing terms for the Nakhchivan prospective structure, situated 47 km east off the coast of Azerbaijan. Under the agreement, both Exxon and SOCAR retain a 50 percent interest, and Exxon will be the operator. The Nakhchivan field was discovered in seismic studies in 1960 and was prepared for exploration drilling in 1994. The size of the field is approximately 32 x 7.5 km (240 sq km). Oil and gas are expected to be found in the strata range between 5,000-5,4000 meters. The Nakhchivan field has estimated reserves of 100 million tons of oil and some 100 billion cubic meters of gas. The block is located in water depths ranging from about 400-600 meters. Exxon has been in Azerbaijan since 1995. It is a member of the AIOC consortium for the development of the Azeri, Chirag and deep-water Gunashli fields. They have been extremely active humanitarian, educational and cultural projects in the community. Specifically, they have regularly sponsored medical supplies to hospitals and refugees. Exxon is one of the sponsors of the Petroleum Geoscience Scholarships which is being coordinated by the American Geological Institute for Azerbaijani students to study in the U.S. They sponsored the publishing of the first comprehensive Azeri-English dictionary in the history of the country. The Cyrillic version came out in 1996 and the new Latin script is expected to be completed soon. Exxon From Azerbaijan International (5.3) Autumn 1997. |
