Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA announced its decision to invest in the Shah Deniz gas field development together with its consortium partners. The said project is located in the Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Statoil said the Shah Deniz consortium will expand the said field with subsea wells, processing facilities and platforms. The group will also build several pipelines to create a gas corridor leading to Europe. The oil firm also said the expansion project will cost around $28 billion, the report detailed.
The company said it is targeting its first gas for late 2018 with sales to Turkey and Georgia. In addition, Statoil said the first shipping to Europe will follow a year after, the report said.
In a statement, Statoil Chief Executive Helge Lund said, "The Shah Deniz Stage 2 project is a significant project which will make Azerbaijan's large gas resources available for the European market."
The Norwegian firm has also agreed to divest a 10% share of its 25.5% stake in the Shah Deniz project and the South Caucasus Pipeline. The said stake will be sold to Azerbaijani state oil firm SOCAR and multinational oil firm BP PLC for a total of $1.45 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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