UK-headquartered energy giant BP is closing in on the first oil from its operated Azeri Central East (ACE) project in Azerbaijan by completing the topsides sailaway and installation for the ACE platform, which is now ready for offshore hook-up and commissioning works in the Caspian Sea.

BP’s $6 billion ACE project is the next phase of the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan. This project was sanctioned in April 2019 and construction started that same year with expectations to achieve the first production in 2023.