TotalEnergies and its partners the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and XRG have made a final investment decision (FID) to move ahead with full field development at the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea.
The field, situated approximately 100km south-east of Baku, Azerbaijan, contains an estimated 140 billion cubic metres (bcm) of recoverable gas reserves.
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TotalEnergies holds a 35% stake and operates the Absheron project alongside SOCAR, which also owns 35%, and XRG with 30%.
The next phase of development is set to increase Absheron’s production capacity from its current 1.5bcm per annum to 6bcm per annum, along with 47,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate.
Production from the expanded project is expected to begin in 2029.
Gas produced will be supplied domestically within Azerbaijan and exported to Turkey using existing gas infrastructure that links Azerbaijan to European markets.
The Absheron field’s initial phase began production in 2023, featuring a subsea well connected to a new gas processing platform, which is in turn linked to SOCAR’s facilities at Oil Rocks.
This first phase has a production capacity of four million cubic metres of gas per day and 12,000bpd of condensate, with output currently dedicated to Azerbaijan’s domestic market.
According to TotalEnergies, the new development stage will make use of four subsea wells and a subsea pipeline equipped with advanced automation technology.
Gas will be processed at a new onshore plant that is fully electrified and designed to lower energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The company reports that the emissions intensity of scope 1 and 2 GHGs is below 4kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent for this project.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of Absheron Full Field development, a project that unlocks the full production potential of one of the Caspian Sea’s largest gas discoveries.
“In line with TotalEnergies’ strategy, Absheron Full Field Development is a low-cost and low-emissions project that will provide a long-term additional gas supply to the domestic and international markets, supporting regional energy security.”
TotalEnergies has had a presence in Azerbaijan since 1996 and also holds a minority interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
The Absheron field was discovered in 2011; its first development phase was approved in 2018 and achieved first gas production in 2023.
TotalEnergies and its Nigerian partner AMNI recently took the FID for the Ima gas field, an offshore development intended to supply a liquefaction plant for the Nigeria LNG project.
