SOCAR to Expand Gas Storage Capacity

There are plans to expand underground gas storage facilities in Azerbaijan to 5 billion cubic meters, said director general of Azneft Production Union of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR during technical consultations on this issue.

There are two gas storage facilities–Kalmaz and Garadagh–in Azerbaijan. Dashgin Isgandarov added that in recent years, a lot of work was done regarding reconstruction and expansion of underground gas storage facilities considered strategic by Azerbaijan, as well as to introduce advanced technologies and increase the efficiency of gas storage, stressing that such operations will continue, Azer News reported.

“Azneft Production Union has implemented a number of projects to increase gas storage capacity in underground storage facilities,” he said.

“We face an important task to boost the capacity of Garadagh and Kalmaz underground storage facilities to 5 billion cubic meters. This process will be implemented in two stages. In the first stage, it is planned to raise the storage capacity to 3.5 billion cubic meters.”

Rovshan Garayev, the head of the department, said that by May next year, work will be carried out at the Kalmaz underground storage facility to bring the volume of buffer gas to 2.3 billion cubic meters.

“To this end, the department of gas storage facilities’ operation will take important measures to increase the capacity of underground facilities, including drilling new wells, rebuilding the above-ground equipment and gas facilities, as well as improving the existing infrastructure,” Garayev said.

During the meeting, it was noted that six new wells will be drilled in the third block of Kalmaz gas storage facility this year and 15 new wells will be drilled in the fourth block.

Azneft Production Union said in a message that six new compressor stations are expected to be built and commissioned before the start of the gas injection season in 2019.

“The work on the supply of equipment for new compressor stations continues. A new manifold system for 15 wells will be built at the gas distribution point of the third block. Major work on the reconstruction and expansion of storage facilities, compressor and electric facilities was undertaken for this purpose,” it added.