Kazakhstan drilling rig "Satti" plans to drill wells in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea

On February 25, 2021, in Dubai, JSC NC KazMunayGas (hereinafter – KMG) and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereinafter – SOCAR) agreed to jointly operate Satti Jack-Up Drilling Rig   (hereinafter - JUDR) in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The agreement on joint activities between KMG Drilling&Services LLP (a subsidiary of KMG) and Caspian Drilling Company Ltd (a subsidiary of SOCAR) provides for drilling 2 exploration and 1 option wells on the Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula structure in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea using JUDR. The signing ceremony was attended by the head of Samruk-Kazyna JSC Akhmetzhan Yessimov and Chairman of the Board of KMG Alik Aidarbayev. Satti JUDR is the first offshore drilling rig built in Kazakhstan. The JUDR is designed for drilling operations in the Caspian Sea at a sea depth of up to 80 meters. Recall that on June 19, 2019, the JUDR was towed to Baku under a trust management agreement between KMG Drilling&Services LLP and Caspian Drilling Company Ltd. The contract provided for the modification of the drilling rig, which will ensure the safe and efficient drilling of exploration wells with a depth of more than 6,000 meters. Currently, the process of modification of the JUDR is at the completion stage. According to KMG, participation in such projects makes it possible to increase the competitiveness of Kazakhstan's oil and gas sector and gain experience in offshore drilling operations.