The South-Western Gobustan contract area consists of 13 structures - Duvanny, Dashgil, Kenizdagh, Solakhay, Toragay, Hajivali, Ilkhichi, Nardaran-Akhtarma, Sundi, Donguzdug, Shikhzagirli, Sheytanud and Burgud, which are divided into 3 blocks – A northern, B central, and C coastal. Nine of the 13 structures in the South-West Gobustan contract area, with a total area of 600 km2, have been tested and recognised as low-production oil and gas facilities. Only Dashgil, Duvanny and Eastern Hajivali oil and gas condensate fields are operated under the agreement, with the remaining balance reserves of these three fields estimated at 4.2 million tons of oil and 5.5 billion m3 of gas. In addition, it is scheduled to drill exploration wells and to put new wells into operation at the West Duvanny, Sheytanud, Solakhay, Kenizdagh, Toragay and Donguzdug exploration areas. A total of 610 wells were drilled in the contract area (for all fields and structures), of which 576 were abandoned. As of the 1st of January 2023, there have been 31 operational wells and 9 of them are in the working well stock. The average daily oil production of wells (including condensate) is 4 tons, and the average daily gas production is 158,000 m³. Wells are operated by the gush method. Since the volume and quality of the seismic survey was not deemed to be acceptable, geological structure and in place volumes of Mesozoic sediments remain uncertain.
A northern block: the block with a total area of 113 km² and four exploration sites is located on Sumgayit-Shamakhy road running through the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains.
B central block: the block with a total area of 146 km² and four exploration sites is 30 km north-west of C coastal bock.
C coastal block: the 351 km² block, which includes Duvanny, Dashgil and Kenizdagh fields, is located 90 km south-west of Baku, near the coastal highway.
The Solakhay structure is located west of the Dashgil field, on a plateau composed mainly of mud volcanoes. The first well was drilled here in 1930 to a depth of 770 m. The deepest well, 4,605 m, was drilled between 1976 and 1977, but there was no commercial production. Three additional oil bearing horizons were discovered below the productive zones of Solakhay structure.
The Kenizdag field is located along the coastal road, approximately 45 km from Baku. The Sangachal-Deniz, Duvanni-Deniz, Gara Zira and Khara Zira fields are located in the south-east of the structure. The presence of offshore fields is a major sign of the migration of large amounts of hydrocarbons to the Kenizdag area. The first well was drilled here in 1931-1932 and was drilled to a depth of 1,031 m for technical reasons after encountering gas manifestations. In total, oil and gas layers were discovered through 29 drilled wells. Between 1963 and 1969, a total of 280,000 tons of oil and 13.6 million m3 of gas were produced. Commercially viable volumes (120-130t/d) were observed on appraisal wells in VII horizon.
The Toragay field is separated from the Kenizdag field by a saddle. There is a 100 m high mud volcano near the field. Eight wells were drilled in the field, four of which produced gas, but were not considered commercially important.
The Sundi field is located 55 km west of Baku and is the next anticline north of the Hajivali field. In 1952, several wells with a depth of less than 500 m were drilled in the area. In one of these wells - well No. 10 - a gas fountain was discovered. Due to the lack of additional seismic data, there is insufficient information about other layers of the structure.
The Ilkhichi structure is located north-west of the Umbaki field, north of the Hajivali field and 60 km west of Baku. The structure was determined during structural drilling in 1951-1953. There are several mud volcanoes in the area. As no wells were drilled in the closed and covered layers, the structure was not tested.
The Nardaran-Akhtarma structure is located north of the Umbaki field, 55 km east of Baku. After geological surveys and drilling of shallow structural wells, 3 deep exploration wells were drilled in 1952-1954. As in other northern structures, exploration is currently risky due to the possibility of very deep strata. Gas flow is noted on fractured/faulted area of the Nardaran-Akhtarma field. This is related to high density of mud volcanoes in the area.
The Donguzdug field is located 50 km north-west of Baku and 32 km north-east of the Hajivali field. The structure was discovered in 1905 by the Nobel Brothers. Although some of the five wells they drilled initially produced 50 tons of oil per day, they were cancelled as low-cost wells for that period. In 1954-1955, 54 shallow wells were drilled here. Well No. 25, which was put into operation with a daily production of 35 tons of oil, produced 5-8 tons of oil per day at intervals until 1995. Well No. 101, commissioned by Gobustan Operating Company in December 2012, is currently operating periodically with poor production.
The Sheytanud structure is located north of Umbaki, in an uneven area, 55 km north-west of Baku. The structure was determined after geological research on the basis of shallow wells drilled in the early 1950s. Exploration well No. 3 was drilled to a depth of 5,400 m. A more detailed study of the structure requires detailed mining and well results. Appraisal well in the field has seen the indications of hydrocarbons in Maykop and Chokrak.
The Burgud structure is located 50 km north-west of Baku, in a hilly area north-east of Block A. In addition to the large number of oil and gas fields, there is also a mud volcano on the plateau. Although several shallow structural wells have been drilled here, no exploration wells have been drilled in the area.
The Shikhzagirli structure is located in a mountainous area with a mud volcano north of Block A, 55 km north-west of Baku. Appraisal well was drilled in 1959-60. The structure is a complex anticline consisting of Eocene-Miocene sediments elongated along the latitude.
The structures were operated by the Gobustan Operating Company from 1998 to 2022. The exploration, development, and production sharing agreement on the three blocks including South-Western Gobustan, Shikhzagirli, Sheytanud, Burgut, Donguzdug, Nardaran, Ilkhichi, Western Hajivali, Sundi, Eastern Hajivali, Toragay, Kenizdagh, Western Duvanny, Duvanny, Solkhay and Dashgil fields in the Republic of Azerbaijan was terminated on the 20th of April 2022.
The structure is in the balance of the Nariman Narimanov OGPD of SOCAR’s Azneft PU.