Sangachal Terminal
Encyclopedia
The Sangachal Terminal is an industrial complex consisting of a natural gas processing
plant and oil production plant
, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea
45 kilometres (28 mi) south of Baku
, Azerbaijan
.
and Novorossiysk
. Oil was first exported in October 1997. The terminal has since been expanded to include the ACG Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 Oil Trains, BTC's main pumping station and the Shah Deniz gas plant. Facilities at the oil production plant include separators
, coalescers
, three new crude oil storage tanks
, Export Pumps
, gas turbine power generators and a central control room.
The terminal expansion contract was awarded to Tekfen-Azfen
joint venture which employed nearly 4,000 employees for the project, 75% of which were Azerbaijani citizens. Due to finalization of the main part of the project, this number was reduced to 1,720 employees.
The overall storage capacity at the terminal is 3 Moilbbl. As of November 2009, the terminal exports 941.4 koilbbl/d.
The terminal is operated by a BP
led consortium and is one of the largest oil and gas facilities in the world. Other partners are from AIOC
, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
, Shah Deniz
and South Caucasus Pipeline
projects. The terminal receives oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
field and natural gas from the Shah Deniz gas field. The oil is exported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey's Mediterranean coast and via the Baku-Supsa Pipeline
and the Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline
to the Black Sea
coast.
Sangachal Terminal was mentioned in documents published by Wikileaks
as one of US “critical foreign dependencies”.
Natural gas processing
Natural-gas processing is a complex industrial process designed to clean raw natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as pipeline quality dry natural gas.-Background:...
plant and oil production plant
Oil production plant
An oil production plant is a facility which performs processing of production fluids from oil wells in order to separate out key components and prepare them for export. This is distinct from an oil depot, which do not have processing facilities.Typical production fluids are a mixture of oil, gas...
, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
45 kilometres (28 mi) south of Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
.
History
Construction of the terminal began in 1996 with the Early Oil Project, which foresaw construction of pipelines to SupsaSupsa
Supsa is a Black Sea port village in western Georgia. It is located at around .It is the terminus of the Western Early Oil pipeline from Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea oil fields....
and Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
. Oil was first exported in October 1997. The terminal has since been expanded to include the ACG Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 Oil Trains, BTC's main pumping station and the Shah Deniz gas plant. Facilities at the oil production plant include separators
Separator (oil production)
The term separator in oilfield terminology designates a pressure vessel used for separating well fluids produced from oil and gas wells into gaseous and liquid components. A separator for petroleum production is a large vessel designed to separate production fluids into their constituent components...
, coalescers
Coalescer
A Coalescer is a technological device performing coalescence. They are primarily used to separate emulsions into their components via various processes; operating in reverse to an emulsifier....
, three new crude oil storage tanks
Storage tank
A storage tank is a container, usually for holding liquids, sometimes for compressed gases . The term can be used for reservoirs , and for manufactured containers. The usage of the word tank for reservoirs is common or universal in Indian English, American English and moderately common in British...
, Export Pumps
Centrifugal pump
A centrifugal pump is a rotodynamic pump that uses a rotating impeller to create flow by the addition of energy to a fluid. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to move liquids through piping...
, gas turbine power generators and a central control room.
Sangachal Terminal Expansion Program
The Sangachal Terminal Expansion Program (STEP) was started in November 2001. The construction of a 500 hectares (5,000,000 m) included 15,000 cubic metre of concrete, 1,600 units of steel structures, 25000 metres (82,021 ft) of pipe, 450000 metres (1,476,378 ft) of cables. Apart from technological works, civil construction included living accommodations for 550 people, cafeteria, movie theater, soccer field, etc. US$1.2-2 billion was spent for sub-projects realized within the STEP project.Tekfen Construction and Installation Co.Inc.
Tekfen is a Turkish conglomerate based in Istanbul. Tekfen has many subsidiaries engaged in a diverse range of construction activities including power generation, airports, petroleum, and roadways...
joint venture which employed nearly 4,000 employees for the project, 75% of which were Azerbaijani citizens. Due to finalization of the main part of the project, this number was reduced to 1,720 employees.
Technical features
Sangachal Terminal has a processing capacity of 1.2 Moilbbl/d and 1.25 Gcuft of gas per day (bcfd). The three new crude oil storage tanks added during the STEP have a capacity of 880 koilbbl each.The overall storage capacity at the terminal is 3 Moilbbl. As of November 2009, the terminal exports 941.4 koilbbl/d.
The terminal is operated by a BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
led consortium and is one of the largest oil and gas facilities in the world. Other partners are from AIOC
Azerbaijan International Operating Company
Azerbaijan International Operating Company is a consortium of currently 10 petroleum companies that have signed extraction contracts with Azerbaijan...
, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline is a long crude oil pipeline from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It connects Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia; and Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey,...
, Shah Deniz
Shah Deniz gas field
Shah Deniz gas field is the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. It is situated in the South Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan, approximately southeast of Baku, at a depth of . The field covers approximately . The Shah Deniz gas and condensate field was discovered in 1999...
and South Caucasus Pipeline
South Caucasus Pipeline
South Caucasus Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline to transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Turkey...
projects. The terminal receives oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli is a large complex of oil fields in the Caspian Sea, about off the coast of Azerbaijan. An overall estimated area of the field is . It is operated by a BP-led consortium. The ACG fields have estimated recoverable reserves of about of petroleum...
field and natural gas from the Shah Deniz gas field. The oil is exported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey's Mediterranean coast and via the Baku-Supsa Pipeline
Baku-Supsa Pipeline
The Baku–Supsa Pipeline is an long oil pipeline, which runs from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku to the Supsa terminal in Georgia. It transports oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field. The pipeline is operated by BP.-History:The preparations for the pipeline's construction started in 1994...
and the Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline
Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline
The Baku–Novorossiysk pipeline is an long oil pipeline, which runs from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku to the Novorossiysk terminal at the Black Sea coast in Russia...
to the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast.
Sangachal Terminal was mentioned in documents published by Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
as one of US “critical foreign dependencies”.
See also
- Azeri-Chirag-GuneshliAzeri-Chirag-GuneshliAzeri–Chirag–Guneshli is a large complex of oil fields in the Caspian Sea, about off the coast of Azerbaijan. An overall estimated area of the field is . It is operated by a BP-led consortium. The ACG fields have estimated recoverable reserves of about of petroleum...
- Natural gas processingNatural gas processingNatural-gas processing is a complex industrial process designed to clean raw natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as pipeline quality dry natural gas.-Background:...
- Natural gas condensateNatural gas condensateNatural-gas condensate is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields....
- Oil production plantOil production plantAn oil production plant is a facility which performs processing of production fluids from oil wells in order to separate out key components and prepare them for export. This is distinct from an oil depot, which do not have processing facilities.Typical production fluids are a mixture of oil, gas...