TotalEnergies Azeri gas project to quadruple output, startup 2028-29: officials

TotalEnergies' expansion of its Absheron gas project in the Caspian Sea is expected to start up in Q4 2028 or early 2029, with production quadrupling to 6.2 Bcm/year of gas and 50,000 b/d of condensate, officials said June 3.

The timeline for the startup of the "full field" development was confirmed by Babak Huseynov, upstream vice president at state-owned Socar, speaking to Platts during the Baku Energy Forum.

Expansion at Absheron, which first came on stream in 2023, should boost the country's hydrocarbon exports -- sent through pipelines over the Caucasus Mountains to Turkey and beyond. Azeri oil production has been on a downward path, and there is uncertainty over the long-term outlook for Shah Deniz, the main Azeri gas source for Europe.

The earlier Absheron development is tied to a shallow-water platform connected to state company Socar's "Oil Rocks" infrastructure on the Caspian coast. However, the full development will have a dedicated 140 km "multi-phase" pipeline -- carrying both liquids and gas -- from the facilities to the coast, TotalEnergies' country chair, Emmanuel de Guillebon, said.

This is expected to enable direct exports to Turkey or Europe.

Absheron currently produces 1.55 Bcm/year of gas and 13,000 b/d of condensate from just one well, de Guillebon said. "It's quite an impressive well. The production is excellent and the first phase shows that we have a nice reservoir below our feet, and we can do more, so now we're going for Phase 2," he said.

Europe supply

Azerbaijan's gas exports to Europe totaled 12.9 Bcm in 2024, an increase of 9% from 2023, according to energy ministry data. Volumes are expected to rise further in future years.

De Guillebon did not clarify whether a final investment decision had formally been taken. However, the fully fledged development will entail an additional three or four wells and have a dedicated gas processing plant at Sangachal near BP's processing facilities, De Guillebon said.

The condensate portion of production may be processed at BP's crude processing plant, another source familiar with the situation told Platts.

Gas condensate has become a significant component of the Azeri Light crude blend, sent through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Azeri Light was last assessed by Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, at a $1.60/b premium to Dated Brent on June 2.

Unusually, the pipeline to shore envisaged for Absheron will have little insulation, as would normally be the practice to prevent hydrate and wax blockages. Instead, as a cost-efficiency measure, it will be fitted with an automated "pigging" system to clear potential blockages as often as monthly without interrupting flows, in a first for the industry, De Guillebon said.

Separately, BP and its partners have taken a final investment decision on a new $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project, involving installing a new compression facility to help access and produce low-pressure gas reserves, the company announced June 3.