The Dostlug oil and gas field is located in the Absheron archipelago, 160 km south-east of Baku, near the Azeri field. The depth of sea in the rise area varies between 30-90 m. This area is more than 110 km from the coastline. To the south of the Dostlug field, there are numerous submarine valleys compounded by steep slopes. The seabed consists of the Caspian contemporary offshore sediments, including silty sand and elastic clay.
In January 2021, during the videoconference between President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, the field formerly known as Kapaz in Azerbaijan and Sardar in Turkmenistan was renamed Dostlug (Friendship). On the 21st of January 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Turkmenistan on joint exploration and development of the hydrocarbon resources of the Dostlug field.
The rise of Dostlug was discovered by the reflected waves method during seismic surveys in 1959. In 1966, additional seismic surveys were conducted to clarify the geological structure of the area and its relationship with neighbouring structures. It should be noted that during the stages of these studies, several rises were discovered, among them the Gunashli, Chirag and Azeri rises, which later became important in the country’s oil and gas industry. The geological structure of the area was clarified as a result of 2D seismic surveys carried out in the area between 1966-1981. The area was prepared for deep drilling in 1983 to develop oil and gas reserves. In the same year, 286 tons of oil and 20,000 m3 of gas per day were extracted from exploration well No. 1 at a depth of 3,491-3,527 m. Exploration well No. 3 drilled in 1989 was tested at a depth of 3,682-3,762 m, resulting in 375 tons of oil and 35,000 m3 of gas production per day.
In general, 4 exploration wells were drilled in the Dostlug rise between 1983-1992. Despite the high production of oil and gas during the tests, the field has not yet been exploited due to its location on the Azerbaijani-Turkmen border. Between 1991 and 1994, complex engineering-geological and structural mapping drilling was carried out in the Dostlug area.
The Dostlug structure extends to the north-west and south-east, compounded by one longitudinal and four transverse fractures in each wing. The amplitude of the structure varies between 300-900 m. The area of the field is 44.55 km².