Azerbaijan expects $21 mln bonus from TotalEnergies after start of production at Absheron field in 2023

BAKU. Nov 30 (Interfax) - The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) expects to receive a bonus of $20.8 million from France's TotalEnergies in 2023 in connection with the start of gas production at the Absheron field.

"Proceeds to SOFAZ in the form of a one-time bonus from TotalEnergies next year are envisioned at $20.8 million. The company will pay it in 30 days after the start of production at the Absheron field," a source in the Azerbaijani government told Interfax.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on November 25 that there are plans to begin gas production at the Absheron field in the Caspian Sea in 2023.

The field is being developed by Joint Absheron Petroleum Operating Company, established by SOCAR Absheron with 50% and Total E&P Absheron with 50%. The contract was signed for 30 years and covers an area of 747 square kilometers.

The Absheron field is located at a depth of 500 meters 100 kilometers from Baku. State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Total finished drilling ABD-001, a production and appraisal well 7,411 meters deep, at Absheron in 2019. The field's reserves total 350-360 billion cubic meters of gas and 100 million tonnes of condensate, and it will be developed gradually.

Annual output will total 1.5 bcm during the initial stage. Peak annual production could be around 5 bcm of gas, and around 10,000 barrels of condensate will be produced at the field daily.