The deal is expected to complete before the end of 2021, following its approval by the government of Azerbaijan.
BP will remain operator of the SWAP production sharing agreement (PSA) during the exploration period, holding a 25% interest.
On completion, participating interests in the PSA will be: Azerbaijan´s SOCAR – 50%, BP – 25% and LUKOIL – 25%.
Vagit Alekperov, LUKOIL President, said:
- LUKOIL's joining of the project of BP and SOCAR falls in line with both Russia's and Azerbaijan's national interests related to the evolvement of international cooperation in energy domain
- I am convinced that all the scientific and technical resources gathered by the partners will boost development of the prospective area in the shallow waters of the Absheron Peninsula
- We are pleased to welcome LUKOIL to the SWAP partnership, building on our successful relationship in the Shah Deniz project
- We look forward to working closely with them and SOCAR on the exploration work programme, which, if successful, will deliver value to Azerbaijan and to our partnership
The SWAP production sharing agreement was signed between BP and SOCAR in December 2014.
In 2016, a 3D seismic acquisition programme was conducted in the area, which resulted in defining 3 prospective areas – North Khali, Bibi-Heybat East and Garabatdag.
The areas feature water depths of up to 40 metres.
The 1st exploration well in the North Khali prospective area was spudded in August 2021.
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