Second stage of seismic surveys begins at Karabakh field

BP Azerbaijan has launched the second stage of seismic surveys at the offshore Karabakh hydrocarbon field in the Caspian Sea, starting a high-resolution and ultra-high-resolution programme expected to last about 45 days.

The company said the work aims to identify geological risks that could affect well integrity, as well as subsurface hazards that may interfere with the safe installation of a platform and other infrastructure.

The first stage of the surveys, using Ocean Bottom Node technology, was carried out from December 2025 to mid-March 2026, and the data collected in the first quarter is currently being processed.

BP and SOCAR signed an agreement on June 3, 2025, under which BP holds a 35% stake in the Karabakh project and SOCAR 65%.

The Karabakh field is located 120 km east of Baku in water depths of 150-200 metres.

Its geological oil reserves are estimated at 60 million tonnes, nearly half of which are recoverable. The field may also contain up to 13 billion cubic metres of gas.