Azerbaijan's president, TotalEnergies CEO discuss company's expansion in country
BAKU. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev discussed the progress of the project to develop the Absheron gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea with TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne in Baku on Thursday.
"During the meeting, it was emphasized that the production had started in the Absheron field, the head of state was given detailed information about the project parameters. It was noted that the production well is the most productive well with the lowest carbon emissions, which is a clear indication of the richness of the field's potential and prospects," a press release on the president's website said.
The parties also discussed the expansion of the French company's activities in Azerbaijan, including the transition to the full development stage of the Absheron field. TotalEnergies "expressed its interest in participating" in new projects in Azerbaijan, the press release said.
"The parties also discussed prospects and potential of implementing renewable energy projects in the country, including in Nakhchivan," the release said.
TotalEnergies and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) on July 10 announced the start of production as part of the first phase of the development of the Absheron field. The field is now producing 4.3 million cubic meters of gas and 1,400 tonnes of condensate per day. The gas is intended for Azerbaijan's domestic market.
The Absheron project was equally owned by SOCAR and TotalEnergies until August 4, when Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) acquired a 30% stake in the project by buying 15% stakes from both companies, reducing their interests to 35%.
The field is being developed by the Joint Operating Company of Absheron Petroleum B.V. (JOCAP), which was founded by SOCAR Absheron (50%) and Total E&P Absheron (50%). The term of the contract is 30 years and the contract area is 747 square km.
The Absheron block is located 100 km from Baku at a depth of 500 meters. SOCAR and Total finished drilling the ABD-001 production and assessment well to a depth of 7.411 km in 2019. The initial estimate put the field's reserves at 350 bcm of gas and 100 million tonnes of condensate. The field will be developed in stages.
Production will total 1.5 bcm per year at the first stage and could peak at about 5 bcm per year.
Azerbaijan's Energy Ministry signed a memorandum with TotalEnergies in June to cooperate on the assessment of a project to build a 250-MW solar farm and 250-MW wind farm. The memorandum also calls for cooperation on assessing energy efficiency projects. These projects are planned in the Nakhchivan and East Zangezur regions.
