French Total reveals plans on Azerbaijan's Absheron field

28 September 2015 12:25 (UTC+04:00)

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By Aynur Karimova

Next milestone for the development of the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea will be the submission and approval of the development program first by the joint venture partners and finally by Azerbaijani authorities.

This remark was made by Eric Meyer, planning development manager at Total Exploration & Production Azerbaijan B.V. at the 3rd Azerbaijan & Caspian Sea Oil and Gas Week 2015 conference on September 28.

He said that in order to be in position to submit the program by the fourth quarter of 2015, the operator is forming up the selected development scheme, and the negotiations on this issue are underway.

French Total also plans to establish a joint operating company with Azerbaijan's state energy giant SOCAR.

"There is also preparation work for forming JOCAP (joint operating company Absheron petroleum), where 40 percent will be SOCAR's, 50 percent - TOTAL's, while 10 percent will be owned by third parties," Meyer noted.

He also stressed that spud of the first well is expected in 2017, the final investment decision - by fourth quarter of 2017.

"Spud of development on the well is expected by the third quarter of 2019, while the first gas is expected there by late 2021-early 2022," Meyer added.

The discovery of the Absheron field was announced in September 2011.

According to SOCAR geologists, the reserves of Absheron could amount to 350 billion cubic meters of gas and 45 million metric tons of condensate.

Absheron project participants include SOCAR - 40 percent, Total – 40 percent and Gaz De France Suez - 20 percent.

It is expected that the first volume of gas from the Absheron field will be received in the fourth quarter of 2021. The final investment decision on the project will be made in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the beginning of the drilling of the first well is expected in the last quarter of 2019.

The 3rd Azerbaijan & Caspian Sea Oil and Gas Summit 2015, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on September 28 and will last until September 30, is the essential forum for assessing the latest developments, technologies and future projects in the region’s booming oil and gas industry.

Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova