Karabakh find steadies Azeri nerves
Socar and Equinor’s 440mn bl discovery in the Caspian could mitigate declines at Azerbaijan’s major fields
Socar’s offshore discovery last month offers Azerbaijan’s oil sector a much-needed shot in the arm as it tries cope with plummeting oil prices and declining production. The find—made with the state-owned oil company’s 50/50 partner Norway’s Equinor—is in the Karabakh field 120km east of Baku in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea. Reserves are estimated at more than 440mn bl. Karabakh is close to the Socar-operated shallow water Gunashli field and the giant BP-operated Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) development, and Socar reckons it is large enough to justify commercial development. Nine wells are planned for production, of which six will be for crude extraction and three for water injection. P

Also in this section
25 July 2025
KRG, Iraq’s central government and Turkey are all working to get exports flowing from the key port, but complications remain
25 July 2025
Mozambique’s insurgency continues, but the security situation near the LNG site has significantly improved, with TotalEnergies aiming to lift its force majeure within months
25 July 2025
There is a bifurcation in the global oil market as China’s stockpiling contrasts with reduced inventories elsewhere
24 July 2025
The reaction to proposed sanctions on Russian oil buyers has been muted, suggesting trader fatigue with Trump’s frequent bold and erratic threats