Fossil Energy – Caspian Sea
On June 3, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) signed an agreement with the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and British energy giant bp to join the Shafag-Asiman gas project in the Caspian Sea.
According to Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, TPAO will acquire a 30% stake in the project, as he told TRT Haber in an interview.
The Shafag and Asiman offshore structures cover an area of about 1,100 square kilometers and are located approximately 125 kilometers southeast of Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital. The water depth in this region ranges from 620 to 800 meters.
This is a technically challenging site due to its complex geology. In March 2021, the first exploration well was drilled in waters 623 meters deep, reaching a total depth of 7,189 meters. That effort uncovered modest gas-condensate reserves — but more notably, it marked the most expensive exploration well ever drilled in the Caspian Sea.
