Azerbaijan's State Oil Company, TotalEnergies, XRG adopt FID on full-scale development of Absheron field in Caspian

BAKU. Sept 28 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), France's TotalEnergies and the Emirati company XRG (part of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., ADNOC) have adopted a final investment decision (FID) on the full-scale development of the Absheron field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, SOCAR said in a statement.

"The signing of the documents on the FID for the full-scale development of the Absheron gas condensate field between SOCAR, XRG and TotalEnergies took place as part of the second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2026) in Baku," the statement said.

According to SOCAR, the work envisaged as part of the full-scale development of the field includes the drilling of additional wells, as well as the creation of new processing infrastructure, which will make it possible to effectively develop the resource potential of the field and bring the overall recovery factor to a level comparable with advanced international gas projects.

Speaking at AIIF 2026, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the FID on the Absheron field will make it possible to increase gas production in Azerbaijan by another 5 billion cubic meters in three to four years.

XRG said in a press release that the FID on the Absheron field opens access to gas resources of up to 5 trillion cubic feet (around 142 bcm).

"Production is expected to start-up in 2029, with output rising to 600 million cubic feet of gas per day [around 17 million cubic meters per day] and 47,000 barrels of condensate per day. The project builds on the first phase of Absheron, which began production in 2023, and marks the next step in bringing one of the Caspian Sea's largest gas discoveries into wider production. It complements XRG's existing investment in the Southern Gas Corridor, linking major Caspian resources with established export routes and growing customer demand," XRG said.

"The Absheron Final Investment Decision marks an important step forward for XRG and reinforces Azerbaijan's role as a trusted energy partner to international markets," the president of XRG's international gas business division Mohamed Al Aryani said.

"Azerbaijan is a core country for XRG, and SOCAR is one of our most strategic partners. Together with SOCAR and TotalEnergies, we are investing in world-class resources and infrastructure that support energy security, create economic value and drive long-term growth," Al Aryani was quoted as saying by XRG.

The contract was signed for a term of 30 years. The contract area amounts to 747 sq. km. According to the initial estimate, the field's reserves are 350 bcm of gas and 100 million tonnes of condensate.

TotalEnergies and SOCAR announced the receipt of the first gas at Absheron on July 10, 2023. In 2024, production as part of the first phase reached a peak level of 1.5 bcm. The gas produced within the first phase is intended for Azerbaijan's domestic market.