SOCAR, Total ink deal on major offshore gas field
By Nigar Abbasova
Azerbaijan’s state energy giant SOCAR and the French oil major Total will further cooperate on the development of the Absheron offshore natural gas field.
The sides signed an agreement on the principles regulating the program of development of the field on November 21.
The agreement, which was undersigned following a meeting between SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné envisages the establishment of the contractual and commercial terms for the first phase of the field production .
The development process will cover the drilling of one well at a water depth of 450 meters. Production from the high-pressure field is expected to stand at 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including a significant portion of condensate.
The produced gas will mainly be directed to Azerbaijan’s domestic market, while the implementation of the first phase will also enable a dynamic appraisal of the field for future phases.
During the meeting, Abdullayev said the effective cooperation between SOCAR and Total as part of the joint oil and gas projects plays a special role in regional and international energy security.
Pouyanné, in turn, expressed interest in further cooperation with Azerbaijan, mentioning that the country possesses broad prospects.
He mentioned that Total follows closely the projects implemented in Azerbaijan and will continue to study new investment opportunities, as well as invest in oil and gas operations implemented in the country. The official expressed intention to take advantage of participation in other oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan, including the development of the potential Umid-Babek structure.
The company started its operations in Azerbaijan in 1996, primarily exploring for and producing oil and gas, while the discovery of Absheron field was announced in 2011.
The reserves of Absheron, which is considered to be the second largest field in the country, are estimated at 350 billion cubic meters of gas and 45 million tons of condensate, according to SOCAR geologists.
The first volumes of gas from Absheron gas and condensate field is expected to be received in late 2021 and early 2022.
Total is the operator of Absheron with a 40 percent interest alongside SOCAR (40 percent) and ENGIE (20 percent).Moreover, Total possesses a 5 percent share in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project.
Being headquartered in Paris, Total is considered to be one of the world's leading energy companies. The operations of the company cover the entire oil and gas chain including exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas as well as power generation, transportation, refining, product trading.
SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, as well as oil and chemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to the industry and the public in Azerbaijan.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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