The work done by the founder of present-day Azerbaijan, national leader Heydar Aliyev, for the development of the oil industry constituting the backbone of the country’s economy, has shortly formed the basis for turning Azerbaijan into a powerful state and for its recognition as one of the strongest economies in the world. As a continuation of this successful policy under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the follower of the political course of national leader Heydar Aliyev, the year 2010 became the brightest page in the glorious history of Azerbaijan, marking the complete liberation of our lands from occupation. The slogan “Karabakh is Azerbaijan!” announced by President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Mr.Ilham Aliyev closely united our people around the head of state during the 44-day Patriotic War. As a result of the triumphal march of the victorious army of Azerbaijan led by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the enemy was expelled from all our lands and Karabakh was fully liberated. The successful and just resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which had long been a source of threat for the region, also made an invaluable contribution to ensuring peace and security in our lands.
As a legal successor and spiritual heir of the Azerbaijan Drilling School that boasts an ancient history, the team of SOCAR Complex Drilling Works Trust (SOCAR CDWT), continuously seeking to introduce innovations and effectively using new equipment and advanced technologies, successfully carries out drilling operations with high technical and economic indicators in accordance with current tasks assigned to it, in accordance with global drilling standards and in compliance with safety and environmental regulations. It is with great pride that we note that the exploration well of the Umid field, one of the brightest pages in the national oil industry during the period of independence, was drilled by the team of SOCAR CDWT. The list of serious accomplishments includes the results of geological and technological survey at Bulla-Deniz, Gunashli, Neft Dashlary, Chilov, Western Absheron, Goshadash, Alyat-Deniz, Agburun, Bahar, Gum Adasy, Jahandar, Turkan, Beyimdag-Tekchay, Pirallahi Adasy, Boyukduz, Shimali Shikhigaya, Tumbul, Eldaroyugu, Muradkhanly, Darvin Bankasy, Garadagh, Galmaz and other fields. As a major service company functioning in our country, SOCAR CDWT, along with drilling vertical, inclined and horizontal wells, carries out well design, overhaul, drilling of lateral (double-hole) and multilateral wells, as well as pipe laying, cementing, pipe testing and other well work.
To ensure the flawless and high-quality completion of drilling, which is among CDWR’s main goals, drilling is carried out with the use of the modern ZJ 70 DBS and ZJ 70 D heavy-duty drilling rigs, the latest achievements in world drilling, equipped with a Top Drive mechanism that meets modern technical and technological requirements. The state-of-the-art hydrocarbon-based drilling fluid to minimize the risk of a drilling tool getting stuck, the MWD/LWD telemetry devices to monitor borehole curvature and stratigraphic section during drilling, a lithology-matched lower drill string assembly made from a PDC type bit, which has high technical performance and meets international standards, and a station for geological and technological control of drilling are used in these wells.
CDWR attaches special importance to introduction of innovative technologies and advanced methods of management both in production and in office. The Operative Management Center functioning within CDWR was established to provide engineering support and application of operational solutions on processes held in the real-time mode with the use of engineering control over drilling works, carried out by the Trust in various fields. Young drilling engineers, graduates of the world’s leading universities are employed here. Most of them are the young people educated within the framework of SOCAR’s scholarship program. The Operative Management Center also plays an important role in developing internal communications. Video surveillance of fixed offshore platforms has been set up and meetings to review production areas in real time and regular morning calls are held here.
The main priorities of the Trust include the creation of safe labor conditions, environmental protection, continuous development of human resources and holding the overall processes in line with international standards. CDWR’s human resources department applies best practices in the sphere of human resources management. The Trust successfully applies modern staff practices based on the examples of Competence Management and Effectiveness Management processes. Implementation of these and other processes that are part of SOCAR’s SAP HR Transformation project helps ensure the sustainable development of CDWR’s talents and business continuity, and prevents the unexpected or planned release of high-priority positions. At the same time, measures taken to improve the skills and motivation of employees – linking employees’ individual goals with the strategic goals of the enterprise, involving employees in various trainings to fill gaps in their knowledge of production - contribute to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
Measures to master modern qualifications are being taken along with training local employees on the spot. In 2024, a planned number of employees were trained in the field of occupational health and safety, including in the categories of management, IT knowledge and functional skills development. In addition, regular trainings are organized for employees to obtain a number of international certificates in the field of drilling, such as the world famous IADC, IWCF. Along with traditional training, attention is also being paid to promoting the use of digital training materials and organizing webinars conducted internally. Learning, skills and performance management processes are fully automated and conducted through the employee service portal. As a business partner, the Human Resources department successfully plays an important role in supporting employees and line managers in these and other processes, developing, appointing and retaining employees, and communicating innovation and other important information.
As a member of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), the team of SOCAR CDWR, which applies modern equipment, advanced methods and technologies, as well as innovative programs in drilling, strives to succeed even further in 2024 through mobilizing all of its resources for the successful continuation of the exploration and drilling works in the country’s offshore and onshore fields and the implementation of drilling projects abroad.
Among the fields of the Baku Archipelago, Bulla Deniz stands out for its hydrocarbon reserves and prospects of further exploration and research works and has quite complex geological and tectonic structure and hydrodynamic conditions. The work is significantly complicated by the deep occurrence of productive formations with the accumulation of hydrocarbon reserves, the presence of abnormally high formation and pore pressures, a narrow window of equivalent circulation density of the drilling fluid, which plays an important role in the drilling process, and the presence of high-hard rocks in the stratigraphic section.
The MPD managed pressure drilling system that is applied in the world’s few geologically complex fields with a narrow window of equivalent circulating mud density was first used by Azerbaijani drillers in the national sector on exploration well No. 91, the deepest of all those drilled at the Bulla Deniz field. The well was drilled to a depth of 6,703 meters. The use of the MPD technology at exploration well No. 91 not only protected against possible complications, but also made it possible to obtain additional geological data, achieve high commercial drilling speed and reduce financial costs. Moreover, in accordance with the category of the exploration well, one of the main objectives of the drilled well was to clarify the geological and lithological structure of the field by conducting a series of geological and geophysical studies during the drilling process. SOCAR CDWR managed to maintain the harmony of success in this direction and successfully completed the geological and geophysical research and rock sampling work envisaged by the project. So, the team carried out the core drilling accurately and efficiently in very difficult geological conditions, brought rock samples of exceptional geological value to the surface and transferred them for further laboratory research. The obtained data will be used as an indispensable source of information in justifying the subsequent drilling of wells planned for 2024 (well No. 140 from platform No. 122, located at the Bulla Deniz field and well No. 127 from platform No. 12, located at the Bulla Deniz field), ensuring wellbore stability and choosing optimal designs and well completion schemes that can serve their long-term operation.
In addition to the aforementioned wells at the Bulla-Deniz field, in 2024, the professional team of SOCAR CDWR plans to drill inclined, horizontal and lateral (double-hole) wells at the Gunashli, Neft Dashlary, Garadag, Galmaz, Chilov, Western Absheron, Pirallahi, Bibiheybat and Zagly-Zeyva, Sadan and Amirkhanly sections of the Siyazan monocline field. The drilling of exploration wells will also begin at the Naftalan and Darvin Bankasy fields.
The year 2024 will be remembered for the successful cooperation of SOCAR CDWR’s team with another customer. On April 27, 2023, SOCAR CDWR entered into a service agreement on drilling operations with Taghiyev Operating Company, and on July 20, 2023, the drilling of the first well with a design depth of 2,000 meters began in the Buzovna-Mashtaga area on the territory of the field. The well, which was expected to take 58 days, was drilled and delivered to the customer in 39 days. The drilling of the second well in the Buzovna-Mashtaga area was even more successful as the well was drilled and commissioned in 30 days. The last well of the project with a design depth of 2,200 meters in the Gala section was also successfully drilled and handed over to the customer. In general, the 174-day project was completed 119 days ahead of schedule and to high quality.
In continuation of this chain of success, in 2021, 5 exploration wells were drilled and handed over to the customer with high professionalism, and also 2 ZJ-50D drilling rigs were brought into readiness for drilling the 6th and 7th wells, one at the Inpinar-1 site near the city of Batman, and the other at the Toytepe-9 site in Siirt province under the name of SOCAR CDWT, within the framework of cooperation with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) of the Republic of Türkiye for drilling exploration wells in Türkiye. Drilling of these wells will begin shortly.
A more prosperous life is ahead of Azerbaijan after the 44-day war that ended with the complete triumph of our country under the leadership of the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. In period of the peaceful construction, definite requirements are set to the oil workers and particularly drilling workers, and the SOCAR CDWR team is filled with determination to advance towards new labor achievements by continuing its operation in other spheres of drilling within the concept of safe work conditions, environmental protection and professional approach and by mobilizing all its resources to ensure the successful drilling of exploration and operational wells in offshore and onshore areas of our country with the use of modern equipment, advanced methods and technologies and innovative programs.
