Environmental problems cloud Caspian consortium of oil fields feeding the BTC Pipeline
| Location |
Azerbaijan
|
| Total Cost |
$3.2 billion
|
| Funding |
IFC $30.5 million, EBRD $16.4 million
|
| Dates |
2003
–2008 |
| Status |
Completed
|
The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) project refers to oil fields in the Caspian Sea, 120 kilometers from Azerbaijan. ACG began in 1997 with the Chirag Early Oil Project, funded by both the IFC ($100 million) and EBRD ($68 million). The Central Azeri field (Azeri Project Phase 1) achieved production in 2005, followed by Phase 2, which included production at West Azeri in December 2005 and East Azeri in 2006. Oil production at the Deep Water Gunashli field commenced in April 2008, marking the completion of Phase 3. In 2009, ACG output is expected to reach a million barrels of oil per day. Total recoverable reserves are estimated at 5 to 6 billion barrels.
The Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) operates the fields’ development, led by British Petroleum (34.1%) on behalf of Chevron (10.3%), INPEX (10%), SOCAR (10%), StatoilHydro (8.6%), Exxon Mobil (8%), TPAO (6.8%), Devon (5.6%), Itochu (3.9%), and Hess (2.7%). The production sharing agreement (PSA) was signed in September 1994 and has since been disclosed.
BIC, together with its civil society partners, monitors the project’s development. It is intricately connected to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which has also received IFI financing.