Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

French oil giant Total SA has sought from the Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR a "window" in the schedule of the first drilling rig for appraisal drilling on the Absheron gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the resource-rich Caspian Sea.

SOCAR plans to build its first drilling rig in 2016.

General Manager of Total E&P Azerbaijan Christian Giudicelli told Trend news agency that Total is interested in the construction of the second drilling rig of a new generation to develop the Absheron gas field.

Azerbaijan announced the discovery of large gas reserves at the Absheron field in 2011.

The field is situated in the Caspian Sea, about 62 miles (100 km) south of the capital Baku. Potential reserves amount to 350 billion cubic meters of gas and 45 million tons of condensate.

Giudicelli reminded that the first gas from this field is planned for as early as 2020, and the volumes during the first phase of the development are expected at three to five billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Further plans to develop the Absheron field and projections for a possible increase in production volumes will depend on the results of exploration drilling, Giudicelli said.

The Absheron project shareholders are SOCAR with 40 percent, Total with 40 percent and Gaz De France Suez with 20 percent.

The discovery of large gas reserves at the Absheron field is seen as a great achievement for future Caspian energy supplies to Europe.

Russian oil company Rosneft is also interested in participating in the project to develop the offshore gas field.

Experts say that if Rosneft joins the project, the company will get an opportunity to enter the European gas market and be the second Russian major player in the Caspian Sea after Lukoil.