Azerbaijan's State Oil Company plans 2D, 3D seismic exploration on onshore Shamakhi-Gobustan block under contract with MOL

BAKU. April 27 (Interfax) - The Hungarian company MOL plans to carry out onshore 2D and 3D seismic exploration in the Shamakhi-Gobustan oil and gas region in Azerbaijan, the Geophysics and Geology Department of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) said on the LinkedIn social network.

"SOCAR's Geophysics and Geology Department, as part of the production sharing agreement (PSA) signed with Hungary's MOL for the Shamakhi-Gobustan oil and gas region, plans to conduct 2D and 3D seismic exploration work on this contract block. The purpose of this work is to clarify the geological structure of the region," SOCAR said.

At the stage of preliminary preparation for implementing the seismic project, meetings were held with representatives of the executive authorities of the Garadagh, Absheron, Shamakhi and Gobustan districts of Azerbaijan, during which the directions of future activities were discussed, the department said.

The start dates for seismic work on the block were not disclosed.

In addition, the Azerbaijani government published a resolution by Prime Minister Ali Asadov approving government guarantees and obligations for the Shamakhi-Gobustan PSA, which partially covers the territories of the Shamakhi, Gobustan, Absheron, Hajigabul and Agsu districts.

As reported, SOCAR and Hungary's MOL Group signed a production sharing agreement for the exploration and production project on the onshore Shamakhi-Gobustan block in Azerbaijan. MOL is the operator of the project, holding 65%, while the Azerbaijani side holds 35%.

Under the project, it is planned that seismic studies will begin in early 2026, and drilling operations at the next stage.

Hungary's MOL Group entered the Azerbaijani market in 2020, acquiring a 9.57% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field development project and an 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.