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A P P L IC A T IO
ME TR ODE
Despite its long history of producing oil, Azerbaijan still pos- Caspian Sea and major oilfields. Decks are being fabricated
at the Baku Deepwater Factory in Azerbaijan
sesses considerable oil and gas deposits. Today, four off-shore
oilfields produce the lion's share of Azerbaijan's output:
"Guneshli," which yields 57 percent of Azerbaijan's current oil
production, "Chirag," "Azeri," and "Kapaz."
During the Soviet period, these fields were left largely un-
tapped because of the expense and difficulty of drilling at
great depths under the sea. Since independence, the Azerbai-
jan International Operating Company, a twelve-company con-
sortium dominated by BP-Amoco, is developing the three larg-
est Azeri oilfields.
The entire Caspian Sea is around 30m below sea level and
while the mean water depth as a whole is 208m, this is con-
siderably shallower to the north-east. The field, 75km SSE of
Atyrau, lies in just 3.7m of water.Temperatures can fall below
-20C in winter and a coating of ice, several metres thick,
forms in this part of the Caspian Sea for many months of the
year.