Baku, Azerbaijan, April 23
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR will receive condensate from the Absheron gas field in the Caspian Sea within the framework of a swap with the French Total, a high-ranking official of SOCAR told Trend on the sidelines of the 3rd SOCAR International Caspian and Central Asia Downstream Forum on Trading, Logistics, Refining and Petrochemicals in Baku April 23.
As part of the first stage of the Absheron field development, it is planned to produce about 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas and 700,000 tons of condensate.
"Under the agreement, the entire volume of gas will be supplied to the domestic market. As for the condensate, it is planned to conduct swap operations. The condensate from the Absheron field will be transferred to SOCAR. In exchange, Total will receive the corresponding volumes transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Ceyhan," the source said.
He added that the concept of the second stage of the Absheron field development has not yet been formed and will be prepared on the basis of the results of the first well.
"The drilling of the first well will begin soon. Presently, the work is underway to eliminate the existing exploratory well," said the source.
In 2016, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and Total signed a framework agreement on the main contractual and commercial principles regulating the program of the first phase development of the Absheron field.
The first phase of the field’s development envisages drilling of one well at a sea depth of 470 meters. The production will stand at 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year and these volumes will be used in Azerbaijan’s domestic market. It is planned to produce up to 4 billion cubic meters of gas as the second stage.
Absheron’s reserves are estimated at 326 billion cubic meters of gas and 108 million tons of condensate, according to the estimations of Total specialists.
The Absheron project will be operated by JOCAP (Joint Operating Company Absheron Petroleum) (50 percent SOCAR, 50 percent Total).
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