TotalEnergies has taken final investment decision on the Absheron full field development, a sanctioned expansion that will raise production at the Casian gas and condensate field to 6 bcmy of gas and 47,000 b/d of condensate, with startup targeted for 2029.

The company announced the decision in a release Sept. 26.

Absheron lies 100 km southeast of Baku in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. TotalEnergies puts recoverable gas reserves at about 140 bcm.

The first development phase came on stream in 2023 and delivers 1.5 bcmy of gas plus 12,000 b/d of condensate. The full field development therefore roughly quadruples gas capacity and nearly quadruples condensate output across the field's life.

TotalEnergies will produce the expansion through four subsea wells tied back to shore via a subsea pipeline equipped with advanced automation. A new onshore plant will process the stream; the facility will be fully electrified and designed to minimize energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The operator puts scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity for the project below 4 kg CO2e/boe.

Gas from the expansion will supply Azerbaijan's domestic market and feed exports to Türkiye through existing infrastructure linking the country to the European gas market — the Southern Gas Corridor routing that has anchored Azerbaijani supply to Europe since Shah Deniz Stage 2 started up.

Ownership

TotalEnergies operates the project with a 35% interest. Partners are State Oil Co. of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) with 35% and XRG, a unit of Abu Dhabi's ADNOC, with 30%.

XRG's presence on the license marks the ADNOC-backed investment vehicle's stake in a Caspian growth project, following its acquisition of the interest previously held by others in the consortium.

Watch item: Execution against the 2029 startup date. Absheron's Phase 1 delivered on schedule, but the full field scope — four subsea wells, a new subsea pipeline and a greenfield onshore plant — carries a heavier fabrication and commissioning load. Contract awards for the onshore facilities and subsea hardware will signal whether the timetable holds.