Speaking to reporters Goodbread said, “Drilling is continuing. We should finish in three or four months. We are very hopeful that the Zafar-Mashal well will be successful.”
Critics of the project say costs on the well have jumped to around US$150 million due to re-spotting brought about by the adverse geological conditions in the area. Goodbread denies the allegations.
“It is not our policy to comment on the costs of a particular well [and] drilling [has] reached 4.0 km of the planned 6.8 km,” said Goodbread.
The US giant is leading the US$3 billion project and has a 30% stake in it. SOCAR holds the majority share with 50% and the balance is held by ConocoPhillips. The Block is 100 km offshore Baku and is the only active new exploration project on the Azeri shelf despite the existence of 20 PSCs in the area.
