02-06-08 State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is ready to draw international contractors to development of prospective structure Absheron in Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
According to SOCAR vice president Elshad Nasirov, SOCAR and Total (France/Belgium) have signed an agreement on the principles of a PSA contract for exploration and development of prospective offshore structure Absheron.

Negotiations about involvement of other companies in the process of contract drafting can also be conducted.
“The process of contract signing with Total is based on available perspective of discovery of hydrocarbon reserves o this contract area. Discovery of gas reserves over here is more probable at depth of up to 7,000 m,” SOCAR's first vice president Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh said.

The Absheron structure has already been a subject of an international contract in 1997 signed between SOCAR (50 %), Total (20 %) and Chevron (30 %, operator), however, the first exploratory well with depth of 6,700 m drilled in 2001 at sea depth of 517 m gave only a little gas flow.
Chevron declined from further drilling operations and compensated to SOCAR for the refusal to drill the second compulsory well. In 2005 the contract became invalid. SOCAR estimates Absheron’s resources at 1 tcm of gas.

Earlier Vagit Aliyev, the director of the SOCAR Department of Foreign Investments, said a specific feature of the new contract will be joint (SOCAR-Total) project operatorship.
“For the first time we’re ready to share operatorship in a large offshore project and that will be a new experience for SOCAR,” he said.