Azerbaijan Signs $10 Billion in Investment Deals, Finalises Absheron Gas Expansion

Azerbaijan secured agreements worth more than $10 billion in potential investment at an international forum in Baku, a presidential aide said, alongside a series of energy deals announced at the same event.

State oil company SOCAR, France's TotalEnergies and Abu Dhabi's XRG reached a final investment decision on the full-field development of the Absheron gas and condensate field. President Ilham Aliyev said the second phase of Absheron, one of the largest offshore fields in the Caspian Sea, would raise the country's gas production by roughly 5 billion cubic metres within three to four years.

Addressing the Azerbaijan International Investment Forum, Aliyev said oil and gas would remain central to the economy and continue to generate wealth for reinvestment. He noted that the non-oil sector now contributes more than 70% of GDP, even as oil and gas account for over 90% of exports.

Azerbaijan ships gas mainly to Europe and Turkey, with about half of its 25 billion cubic metres of exports last year going to EU countries. The expansion comes amid heightened global concerns over energy supply security, though any further growth in Azerbaijani exports to Europe would depend on additional pipeline capacity.

Separately, SOCAR and US energy major ExxonMobil signed a production-sharing agreement covering exploration, development and production of unconventional hydrocarbon resources in Azerbaijan's Middle Kura basin. Each company will hold a 50% stake, with ExxonMobil as operator.

Aliyev also said transit cargo volumes through the country are expected to reach 16 million metric tons this year, with a target of 25 million tons or more by 2030. The government, he added, is negotiating with unnamed international companies to develop data centres and artificial intelligence capabilities in Azerbaijan.