BP as the operator of the agreement on the exploration, development, and production sharing for the Shallow Water Area around the Absheron Peninsula in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea (SWAP), announces that as part of its work program, the draft Environmental and Socio-economic Impact Assessment (ESIA) document for SWAP exploration drilling activities has been produced and published by BP on behalf of the contracting parties, Report informs, referring to BP-Azerbaijan.
“The ESIA document has been prepared for the exploration drilling phase of the SWAP contract. It examines the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of the exploration drilling activities and describes the recommended mitigation measures. The ESIA process aims to ensure that any adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts arising from the proposed works are identified and minimized and, where possible, eliminated.
Three prospective areas have been identified within the SWAP contract area for exploration drilling, and it is planned to drill one exploration well in each area – three wells in total. This document focuses specifically on the second exploration well to be located within the West prospective area approximately 1,5 km from the mainland in a water depth of about 7 m with potential hydrocarbons approximately 4,000 m below the seabed surface.
Note: the ESIA document for the first exploration well located in the North East prospective area was disclosed on 28 August 2020 for 60 days. The exploration drilling activities at the third well location will be covered in a separate addenda document.
Consultation with stakeholders is an important element of the ESIA process. Listening to and documenting the opinions of interested parties ensures that the project design and the ESIA reflect the collective views of key stakeholders.
The full draft ESIA document has been produced in Azerbaijani and English and is available on BP’s website at:
You are requested to send us your comments and feedback on the draft ESIA via the following ways of communication:
by email sending the filled feedback forms to [email protected]
by post sending the filled feedback forms to: BP Xazar Centre, 153 Neftchiler av., Port Baku, AZ1010
Note: link to the feedback form: https://go.bp.com/vPoA2
The ESIA disclosure period is 60 days. It starts on 1 July 2021 and will end on 30 August 2021.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be able to place copies of the ESIA document in public libraries as we did in the past. However, public libraries, institutions, and universities are welcome to download the ESIA document from the bp website link above and disseminate it via their online resources.
We look forward to hearing your views and opinions on the draft ESIA,” the document said.
