WASHINGTON, U.S., March 10. GL Group is
interested in expanding oil and gas operations in Azerbaijan and
beyond, Gilbert Beuhler, Senior Vice-President for Technical
Functions and International Operations at GL Group, told Trend on the sidelines of the
U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade and Business Conference, dedicated to the
30th anniversary of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC)
in Washington D.C.


“We’re always interested in expansion everywhere we operate,
that includes Azerbaijan. We’re very optimistic about the future of
the Azerbaijan oil and gas business, and we will be a successful
part of that,” Beuhler said.


He outlined the company’s strategy in the region: “We do intend
to, first, keep expanding and growing our existing assets. Second,
look for additional acquisition opportunities. And third, of
course, do this across the board, not only in Azerbaijan, but
regionally.”


Beuhler highlighted the role of technology in GL Group’s
operations. “I talked a little bit about the importance of field
digitization, the digital oil field. That’s allowing us to optimize
our activity targets, our drilling targets, and that means every
well is more efficient,” he said.







The company has implemented advanced modeling and drilling
techniques. “We have built 3D geologic models, 3D reservoir models
on everything that we operate, and we’re using that to drive our
activity plan. That’s a fundamental shift in technology that we’re
doing. Second is we are improving drilling technology. We’re doing
directional drilling. We’re doing things like oil-based mud, things
that are less damaging to the reservoir. By that I mean increased
productivity of the reservoir, and we’re seeing increased well
rates that have historically never been achieved.”


Beuhler described the company’s approach as a “crawl, walk, run”
journey. “What we’re doing is a part of the technology curve. We
are currently doing things that help decrease reservoir decline,
stabilize production, and then form as the basis to increase
production. And just an example of that, we drilled a recent well
that has multiple production rates than anything that’s been
drilled in the field in three years.”


He concluded: “What we want to do is be part of successful
increasing of production of oil and gas in Azerbaijan. And we feel
we’re not only a part of that, but we’ll continue to be a larger
part of that.”