Offshore construction begins on $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project

Offshore construction has begun on the $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project at the Shah Deniz gas-condensate field.

According to Report, citing BP Azerbaijan, operator of the Shah Deniz consortium, the transportation and offshore installation of four tubular piles that will form the foundation of the SDC platform jacket have been successfully completed over the past few weeks.

The operations were carried out using the Khankandi subsea construction vessel.

Each pile is approximately 70 meters long, 108 inches in diameter and weighs 292 tons, making them the largest-diameter tubular piles BP has installed in the Caspian to date.

A specially designed 188-ton subsea support template was used during installation to ensure the stability and vertical alignment of the piles.

BP also used pile plug technology for the first time in its operations in the region as part of the campaign.

"The completion of this milestone paves the way for the installation of the SDC platform jacket in the first half of 2028," BP said.

The main objective of the Shah Deniz Compression project is to enable production of low-pressure gas reserves from the Shah Deniz field and increase the field's gas recovery factor.

The project is expected to enable the production and export of an additional nearly 50 billion cubic meters of gas and approximately 25 million barrels of condensate from the field.

The project envisages the construction of an electrically powered, largely unmanned compression platform in 85 meters of water, about three kilometers from the existing Shah Deniz Bravo platform.

The platform will be equipped with four compressors, each with a capacity of 11 megawatts.

The new facility will compress gas produced from the Shah Deniz Alpha and Shah Deniz Bravo platforms before it is sent to the onshore Sangachal terminal.

Construction under the project is scheduled to be completed in 2029.

The SDC platform is expected to be ready to compress gas produced from Shah Deniz Alpha in 2029 and from Shah Deniz Bravo in 2030.