TotalEnergies and its partners have taken a final investment decision (FID) to start full-field development of the deepwater Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea, a project intended to satisfy Azerbaijan’s domestic demand and export commitments to Turkey, thus maximizing Baku’s gas exports to Europe.
The French major operates Absheron with a 35% interest, alongside Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR (35%), and XRG, the investment arm of Abu Dahbi National Oil Company, which holds the remaining 30%.
Absheron’s Phase2 is expected to start production in 2029, with an additional 110,000 BOED projected at plateau, according to an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) filed in March 2026.
In announcing FID on 26 September, TotalEnergies said in a news release that the expansion strengthens “regional energy security” by enabling Azerbaijan to better allocate volumes and optimize capacity on the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) system to meet gas export commitments to the EU.
Phase 1 Proves the Concept
Located 100 km south-east of Baku, in water depths of 350 to 550 m (1,150 to 1,800 ft), Absheron contains as estimated boasts 140 Bcm of recoverable gas reserves. Phase 1 achieved first gas in 2023, bringing 1.5 Bcm/year of natural gas and 12,000 B/D of condensate onstream, according to TotalEnergies.
This Early Production Scheme supplied Azerbaijan’s domestic market via a 35-km subsea tieback from a single well (ABD-001) to a shallow-water processing platform adjacent to SOCAR’s existing Oil Rocks facilities, as described in TotalEnergies’ ESIA filing.
According to the ESIA, Phase 1 is designed as a long-plateau development, producing 36,000 to 39,000 BOE/D, including 4.2 million m³/d of gas and 12,800 B/D of condensate. Gas and liquids are separated on the shallow-water platform and further processed and stored at Oil Rocks, which treats and reinjects produced water into its own fields.
Phase 1 produces 150 MMcf/D of natural gas and 12,000 B/D of condensate, supplying Azerbaijan's domestic market, according to TotalEnergies.
What the Expansion Brings to the Party
Absheron’s expansion calls for the additional “subsea development of three deepwater wells tied back through a 140-km subsea multiphasic pipe to newly built onshore facilities in Sangachal for the processing and export of gas and liquids,” as described in the ESIA.
TotalEnergies’ newbuild central processing facility to separate gas and liquids from Absheron’s production will be located about 4 km southwest of BP’s Sangachal terminal, which is currently the export hub start for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline, which exports gas to Georgia, Turkey, and the EU via the SGC.
TotalEnergies said Phase 2 is expected to produce 12.7 million m³/d of natural gas (4.5 Bcm/year) and an initial 35,000 B/D of condensate at plateau, supplementing production from Phase 1.
This would increase production from Absheron to 6 Bcm/year of natural gas and 47,000 B/D of condensate, according to TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said that the project reflects the company’s strategy of pursing “low-cost and low-emissions” gas developments. The company noted that the new onshore gas processing plant will be fully electrified and designed to minimize energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The project is expected to have a Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity of less than 4 kg CO₂e/BOE, according to TotalEnergies.
XRG Doubles Down on Midstream
In its coverage of the FID announcement, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) highlighted XRG’s strategic positioning in Absheron, noting that "the expansion will help boost gas deliveries to Europe as part of XRG's long-term bet on Caspian gas."
Azerbaijan has signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Commission pledging to deliver 20 Bcm/year of natural gas to the EU by 2027.
On 14 September, XRG completed the purchase of a 12.5% equity stake in the SGC from the Azerbaijani government. The 3,500-km system comprises the South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, and Trans Adriatic Pipeline, linking gas supplies from Baku to markets in Italy.
XRG’s acquisition of a 12.5% stake in the SGC reduced SOCAR’s ownership to 51%, while the Azerbaijan Ministry of Economy retained a 36.4% interest.
Currently, the BP-operated Shah Deniz consortium is the primary supplier of Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Europe through the SGC. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy reported in January that the country produced 51.5 Bcm of natural gas, of which 27.9 Bcm came from Shah Deniz, accounting for about 54% of the total.
Partners in Shah Deniz are BP (29.99%); Russia’s Lukoil, (19.99%); Turkey’s TPAO, (19%); SGC (16.02%); the National Iranian National Oil Company subsidiary NICO (10%), and Hungary’s MVM (5%).
