Adnoc makes first major global gas deal with Azeri acquisition

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has said it would acquire a 30 per cent equity stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan, marking the company’s first major international purchase of upstream hydrocarbon assets.

Adnoc has entered into an agreement with TotalEnergies and Azerbaijan's state-owned Socar to acquire the stake. The transaction will see TotalEnergies and Socar each sell a 15 per cent stake in the project, leaving both with a 35 per cent share.

The agreement comes less than a month after TotalEnergies announced the start of production from the first phase of the project. The first phase has a production capacity of 35,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d), comprising around 22,000 boe/d (4.0 million cubic meters per day) of natural gas and 12,000 b/d of condensate. The gas is being sold in the domestic market in Azerbaijan, while the condensate is being exported through the 1mn b/d Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

Adnoc’s investment in the Caspian region is part of the strategy of the UAE’s state oil and gas giant to expand on international gas markets .The deal marks Adnoc's "first investment in an upstream asset outside of the UAE.