Karabakh (oil and gas field)

• The structure of Karabakh was discovered in 1965. At the same time, a preliminary three-dimensional seismic survey was carried out, according to the results of which the preliminary reserves of Karabakh were estimated at 80 million tons of oil.
• On November 10, 1995, a production sharing agreement was signed for the exploration and development of the field.
• On February 13, 1996, the agreement was ratified by the Parliament of Azerbaijan . On February 23, 1996, it entered into force.
• Summer of 1996, the companies that signed the contract with the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan formed an operating consortium of the Caspian International Oil Company - KMNK ( English Caspinn International Petroleum Company - CIPCO ) as part of the joint venture LUKAgip (45%), Pennzoil (30%), Lukoil (12.5%), Agip (5%) and SOCAR (7.5%)
• August 1996 - KMNK officially began work, for 3 years (the period could have been extended to 4, 5 years) it was supposed to carry out exploration work (seismic exploration and drilling of 3 wells). The first oil was planned to be produced at the end of 2000 after confirming the presence of reserves on an industrial scale. The drilling of wells was carried out by the Azerbaijan - US Caspian Drilling Company joint venture , the founders of which were SOCAR and Santa Fe .
• January 26, 1999 KMNK made a statement on the termination of its activities due to the lack of economic feasibility of the project (exploration showed that the field’s reserves do not exceed 30 million tons of oil)
• February 23, 1999 after the expiration of the time limit for exploration work, the consortium officially ceased to exist
• The Karabakh field was discovered in 2000 .
• April 2006 - GKAR announced its desire to develop the field independently

Under the terms of the original contract, the total amount of payments to the Azerbaijani side was to reach $ 135 million, according to experts, the total capital expenditure for its implementation was to be $ 1.7 billion, the amount of operating costs was $ 1-3 billion.

In fact, at least $ 100 million were spent on the work of the KMNK program during the exploration period.

According to preliminary estimates by SOCAR , the total cost of completing the development of the field may be about $ 200 million.

• Oil and Gas Production in the CIS countries - Karabakh structure development project
• Not only oil, but also extensive infrastructure (inaccessible link)
• SOCAR plans to invest up to $ 200 million in the development of a new field in the Caspian Sea