Baku: BP and its co-venturers reported a significant investment in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil field activities, with expenditures totaling approximately $564 million in operating and $1,288 million in capital in 2025.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the year saw the successful processing of data from the 4D high-definition ocean bottom node seismic program on ACG, which concluded its second year of data acquisition in 2024. Furthermore, ACG initiated a multi-well subsea intervention campaign in the Deepwater Gunashli area, employing riserless light well intervention (RLWI) technology for the first time in BP's Caspian operations. This innovative technology, known as the Blue Ocean Riserless Intervention System (BORIS) provided by Oceaneering International, is designed to enhance surveillance and identify opportunities for pressure management and production rate improvement efficiently.
The campaign also introduced a vessel-based intervention method to reduce reliance on semisubmersible drilling rigs and enable earlier subsea interventions, marking another first for the Caspian region. This method involves integrating the RLWI system onto the Khankendi subsea construction vessel, from which all interventions are conducted. Offshore operations as part of the campaign are slated for completion by the end of 2026.
Throughout the year, ACG consistently delivered stable production, averaging about 330,000 barrels per day (b/d), equating to roughly 120 million barrels or 16 million tonnes in total. The production was distributed across platforms including Chirag, Central Azeri, West Azeri, East Azeri, Deepwater Gunashli, West Chirag, and ACE.
In 2025, ACG celebrated two major production milestones. On 18 February, the Central Azeri platform marked the 20th anniversary of first oil production, having produced a total of 1.2 billion barrels of oil to date. Later, on 30 December, the West Azeri platform also celebrated two decades since first oil, with production exceeding 1 billion barrels.
By the end of 2025, ACG had 147 oil wells in production, with 49 used for water and 10 for gas injection. The year saw the drilling and completion of 10 oil producer wells, five water injector wells, one gas injector well, and one cuttings re-injector well.
ACG also delivered an average of around 8 million cubic meters per day of associated gas to Azerbaijan, amounting to 2.7 billion cubic meters in total, primarily at the Sangachal terminal and SOCAR's Oil Rocks facility. The rest of the associated gas produced was re-injected for reservoir pressure maintenance.
Following the ACG NAG Addendum in 2024, an initial production well was planned and safely drilled from the West Chirag platform, marking a significant appraisal milestone. The well provided access to two priority NAG deep reservoirs, confirming the presence of gas resources in the NKP reservoir, with production expected to commence in the second half of the year. Additionally, high-pressure gas was encountered in the PK reservoir, with short-term testing production planned for the first half of 2026 before transitioning focus to the NKP reservoir.