Umid Babek Operating Company

UBOC
TypePrivate
Umid Babek Operating Company
IndustryOil and gas
Founded2017
Area served
Azerbaijan
Key people
Elkhan Bashirov (General Manager)[1]
ProductsNatural gas and condensate
OwnerSOCAR (80%)
Nobel Upstream (20%)

Umid Babek Operating Company (UBOC) is an offshore oil and gas operating company involved in the exploration and development of the Umid gas-condensate field and the Babek prospective structure in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.[2][3] The company operates under a Risk Service Agreement (RSA) signed between the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Nobel Upstream, a UK-based subsidiary of NEQSOL Holding.[4]

History

The Umid gas-condensate field was discovered by SOCAR in 2010, marking the first domestic gas discovery since Azerbaijan's independence.[2] Subsequent geological studies indicated that the Umid and Babek offshore structures form a unified hydrocarbon block within the South Caspian Basin.[5]

In May 2016, a presidential decree authorized negotiations on a Risk Service Agreement for the block.[6] The agreement entered into force in May 2017 following formal ratification by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, leading to the official establishment of UBOC as the joint operating vehicle.[7]

Operations

UBOC's operations are located approximately 75 kilometres south of Baku, focusing on offshore drilling, subsea well intervention, and infrastructure management.[4] The Umid field holds estimated recoverable reserves of 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 40 million tonnes of gas condensate.[8] The adjacent Babek structure is estimated to contain up to 400 billion cubic metres of gas and 80 million tonnes of condensate.[9] Production infrastructure includes offshore operating platforms equipped with Liebherr cranes and the Dashgil-2 onshore processing terminal.[10]

For the Babek structure's exploration, UBOC executed a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) drilling program at the BX-01 well. The company utilized a 15,000 psi subsea riser system supplied by Aquaterra Energy, marking the first time a subsea well in the Caspian region was engineered to be drilled from a jack-up rig in 62-meter water depths.[11][12] Subsea appraisal drilling at the Umid field is scheduled to extend through 2027 using the "Neptune" jack-up rig, targeting depths exceeding 7,000 metres.[13] In March 2026, the company successfully completed its latest deep offshore well in the region.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "UBOC chief: SOCAR drilling one of its most complex high-pressure wells at Umid field". Azeri Press Agency (APA). Retrieved 6 June 2026. Elkhan Bashirov, Director General of Umid-Babek Operating Company
  2. ^ a b "Azerbaijan announces major gas discovery at Umid field". Reuters. 27 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  3. ^ "UBOC developing plan to increase gas production at Umid field". Report Information Agency. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Umid-Babek Report". Wood Mackenzie. 31 March 2025. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  5. ^ "Babek Oil and Gas Field (Azerbaijan)". Global Energy Monitor. Archived from the original on 2 March 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  6. ^ "Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on measures related to the Umid-Babek block". President of Azerbaijan. 2 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  7. ^ "Milli Meclis ratifies Risk Service Agreement on Umid-Babek". National Assembly of Azerbaijan. 16 May 2017. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  8. ^ Javadov, Sadig (24 November 2025). "Azerbaijan marking quindecennial of its Umid field's discovery". Trend News Agency. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  9. ^ "Cabinet defines liabilities under RSA". AzerNews. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  10. ^ "SOCAR: "Daşgil-2" terminalının tikintisi 2025-ci ildə tamamlanacaq". İki sahil. 28 April 2022. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  11. ^ "Aquaterra Energy seals 15k HPHT riser deal with UBOC for Azerbaijan project". Drilling Contractor. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  12. ^ "UBOC lets riser contract in Azerbaijan". Oil & Gas Journal. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  13. ^ "UBOC extends 'Neptun' rig operations at Umid gas field through 2027". Azernews. 12 April 2026. Archived from the original on 13 April 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  14. ^ "Azerbaijani operator completes latest deep offshore well in Caspian Sea". Upstream Online. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
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