Adnoc Acquires 30% Stake in Caspian Gas Field with Total Energies and Socar Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has finalized a groundbreaking deal to acquire a 30% equity stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field situated in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan.
This acquisition marks Adnoc’s first major international venture into upstream hydrocarbon assets.
The agreement involves Adnoc partnering with Total Energies and Azerbaijan’s state-owned Socar. Under the transaction, Total Energies and Socar will each sell a 15% stake in the project, retaining a 35% share each.
The deal was concluded shortly after Total Energies commenced production from the first phase of the project, boasting a production capacity of 35,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent (boe/d), consisting of approximately 22,000 boe/d (4.0 million cubic meters per day) of natural gas and 12,000 barrels per day of condensate.
While the gas is being sold in Azerbaijan’s domestic market, the condensate is being exported through the 1-million-barrel-per-day Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Adnoc’s investment in the Caspian region is a strategic move to expand its presence in international gas markets, marking its first investment in an upstream asset outside of the UAE.
Adnoc’s executive director of Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, highlighted the strategic significance of this partnership with SOCAR and Total Energies, emphasizing its potential to unlock opportunities in the Caspian region for years to come.
He also pointed out that this collaboration aligns with the broader energy collaboration between the UAE and Azerbaijan, contributing to the global transition towards a lower-carbon future.
TotalEnergies’ President of Exploration & Production, Nicolas Terraz, expressed satisfaction in welcoming Adnoc as a strategic partner in the Absheron gas field, recognizing its potential for further development to meet the growing global gas demand.
Looking ahead, a planned second phase at Absheron could potentially boost gas production to 5.0 billion cubic meters per year. However, the project partners are yet to finalize a development scheme and determine the potential export of additional gas output through Azerbaijan’s southern corridor route to Europe, traversing Georgia and Turkey.