The Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara perspective structure is 90-110 km northeast of Baku. The sea's depth in the structure's area varies from 80 to 180 m.
The Ashrafi uplift was explored in 1959 by the wave method of seismic exploration. In 1989, the structure was prepared for deep drilling for oil and gas production. The Agjagil floor and the Productive Layer sediments were opened up to the Lower-Kirmaki (Girmaki Alti) productive layer through drilling.
The Dan Ulduzu uplift was explored in the 1970s. Despite specific measures taken from 1982 to 1985 to develop the structure, the project still needed to be completed.
The Aypara uplift was explored in 1980. The structure was prepared for deep drilling in 1981, but drilling operations were not started at that time.
In December 1996, an agreement was signed in Baku on the joint development of the Dan Ulduzu and Ashrafi prospective structures in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. In February 1997, the agreement was ratified by the parliament of Azerbaijan. The project was operated by Northern Absheron Operating Company (30%), SOCAR (20%), Itochu (20%), Unocal (25.5%) and Delta HESS (4.5%). In February-April 1997, 3D seismic exploration works were carried out in the field and the location of the first well to be drilled was chosen. Exploration well No. 1 with a design depth of 4,100 m in the Ashrafi structure drilled by the Dada Gorgud floating drilling rig opened the Girmaki Alti (Under-Kirmaki) suite in the range of 3,524 to 3,536 m in 1998 and produced 650,000 m3 of gas and 70 tons of condensate per day. The well then opened the second facility, the Girmaki Ustu Gumlu formation, which was developed to produce 450 tons of oil and 200,000 m3 of gas per day. To assess the prospects of the Dan Ulduzu structure in the contract area, a well was drilled in August-September 1998 and another one in February 1999. The planned depth of both wells was 3,100 m. As a result of surveys in the wells, the geological structure of Dan Ulduzu was clarified and the saturation of some intervals of the structure with hydrocarbons was positively assessed. The agreement was withdrawn on 7 March 2000.
In May 2018, SOCAR and Norwegian Equinor signed an agreement in Baku on the exploration, development and production sharing of the Ashrafi, Dan Ulduzu and Aypara prospects. The Milli Majlis ratified the agreement in June. The parties have a 50% production share. Equinor conducted seismic surveys at the Ashrafi, Dan Ulduzu and Aypara exploration fields in November-December 2019. 600 km of 3D and 800 km of 2D seismic works were carried out in the area. The measured seismic data were processed and interpreted. Now the project is at the stage of selecting prospective structures for drilling exploration wells.