Azerbaijan Expects 4-fold Increase in Annual Gas Production from Absheron – Minister of Energy
Azerbaijan expects a 4-fold increase in annual gas production from the Absheron gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea to 6 billion cubic meters, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said.
“We (Thursday in Baku – IF) took part in the ceremony of extraction of the first gas from the Absheron field. The phased development of Absheron, taking into account our demand and exports, plans to increase annual production from 1.5 billion cubic meters to 6 billion cubic meters, are an important contribution to the energy security of our country and our partners,” Interfax-Azerbaijan reports citing to an entry made by Shakhbazov in his microblog on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier it was reported that at the peak, about 5 billion cubic meters of gas per year can be produced from the Absheron field.
The Minister also said that after the ceremony, he met with Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of the French company TotalEnergies, with whom he discussed the development of cooperation within the Absheron field development project and 500 MW green energy projects.
In addition, the current status of projects related to the production, integration into the energy grid and the export of electricity from renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan was considered, with new opportunities for cooperation, and further steps were agreed.
On July 10, 2023, TotalEnergies and SOCAR announced the start of production as part of the first phase of the development of the Absheron field. According to the Ministry of Energy, in July, 100 million cubic meters of gas were produced at the field.
Currently, 4.3 million cubic meters of gas and 1,400 tons of condensate are produced daily from the Absheron field as part of the first stage of production. The gas is intended for the domestic market of Azerbaijan.
SOCAR and TotalEnergies had equal shares in the Absheron project – 50% each. However, on August 4, 2023, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) acquired a 30% stake in the project – 15% each from SOCAR and TotalEnergies. After the completion of the transaction, the shares of SOCAR and TotalEnergies in the Absheron project will each be 35%.
The Absheron field is being developed by the Joint Operating Company of Absheron Petroleum B.V. (JOCAP) established by SOCAR Absheron (50%) and TOTAL E&P Absheron (50%). The contract was signed for a period of 30 years. The contract area is 747 sq. km.
The Absheron block is located 100 km from Baku at a depth of 500 meters. In 2019, SOCAR and TOTAL completed drilling of the production and appraisal well “ABD-001” with a depth of 7411 meters at the “Absheron” field. According to the initial estimate, the reserves of the field amount to 350 billion cubic meters of gas and 100 million tons of condensate, and its development will be carried out in stages.
At the first stage, the production volume will be 1.5 billion cubic meters per year.
As reported, in June 2023, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan signed a memorandum with TotalEnergies: on cooperation in assessing the construction project of a solar power plant (SPP) with a capacity of 250 MW, a wind farm (WPP) with a capacity of 250 MW. The memorandum also provides for cooperation between the parties in the field of energy efficiency projects evaluation. These projects are planned to be implemented in Nakhchivan and East Zangezur.
