TotalEnergies has commenced production from the phase 1 development of the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan.
The French company is partnered with the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in the offshore project, located nearly 100km south-east of Baku.
Both companies own a 50% stake in the Absheron gas and condensate project, which is operated by their joint company, Joint Operating Company of Absheron Petroleum (JOCAP).
TotalEnergies exploration and production president Nicolas Terraz said: “We are very pleased to announce the start-up of the Absheron gas field, the result of our exploration team’s success. This project is in line with the Company’s strategy of meeting the growing demand for gas and reinforces our partnership with the national company SOCAR.”
According to TotalEnergies, phase 1 of the offshore development links a subsea production well to a new gas processing platform, which, in turn, is connected to the existing facilities at SOCAR’s Oil Rocks field.
Located in the Absheron archipelago of the South Caspian oil and gas basin, the Absheron field has a production capacity of four million cubic meters of gas per day and 12,000 barrels a day of condensate.
The gas drawn from the offshore field will be sold on the Azerbaijani domestic market.
TotalEnergies said that the Absheron project offers an additional gas supply to cope with the increasing demand, at a competitive technical cost and low carbon emissions intensity, aligning with the company’s strategy.
The offshore Azerbaijani field is estimated to hold 350 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 45 million tons of condensate. It was discovered by Total (former name of TotalEnergies) in 2011 in 500m of water, nearly 25km northeast of the Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.
In 2016, the French firm signed an agreement with SOCAR to develop the gas and condensate discovery. Nearly, two years later. JOCAP gave a contract to BOS Shelf for constructing the Absheron platform and all the associated structures.