Azernews.Az

BAKU – The newly discovered Absheron structure in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian Sea holds 350 billion cubic meters of gas and 45 million tons of associated condensates, bringing the country’s proven gas reserves to 2.55 trillion cubic meters, according to a senior official of the state energy firm Socar.

"The discovery of the Umid field last year and the Absheron field this year shows that Azerbaijan is rich in gas reserves," Socar’s First Vice-President Khoshbakht Yusifzada told a news conference Monday.

French energy giant Total, which is tapping the field, announced the huge natural gas find last Friday.

The deposit, located some 100 kilometers south east of the capital Baku, started yielding gas at a depth of 6,550 meters and geologists at the site say the gas field could extend for some 270 square kilometers.

The field is expected to produce first gas in 2020-2022, but production may be launched five years earlier if a platform is installed at the drilling site.

The contract on the Absheron block was signed in February 2009 by Socar and Total. The project’s participating interests are: Socar and Total with 40 percent each, and Gaz De France Suez with 20 percent.

This is the second attempt by foreign energy companies to tap the Absheron field. In 1997, the first production sharing agreement was signed for exploration and development of the contract area between Socar and US ChevronTexaco. Socar had 50 percent of equity participation, while ChevronTexaco held 30 percent and acted as the operator of the project, and Total had 20 percent. However, after drilling, Absheron’s reserves were considered commercially unattractive, and the contract was invalidated.