Oil and gas fields

 Shah Deniz field

The Agreement on Exploration, Development and Production Sharing for the Shah Deniz Prospective was signed on June 4, 1996. The Shah Deniz field, located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea and recognized as one of the world’s largest gas and condensate fields, was discovered in 1999. As a result of implementing the Shah Deniz gas project, which contains 1 trillion cubic meters of gas and 243 million tons of condensate, Azerbaijan has become a gas-exporting country.

The development of the Shah Deniz field consists of two stages. Under Shah Deniz Stage 1 (SD1), 11 wells were drilled, and a platform, the Sangachal Terminal, and the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) were constructed. Operations under the first phase commenced in 2006, with gas exports to the Georgian and Turkish markets beginning in 2007.

The full development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field—Shah Deniz Stage 2 (SD2)—is both the largest and most complex gas projects in the world and the first subsea development in the Caspian Sea. Shah Deniz Stage 1 had an production capacity of 11 bcma and 60 thousand barrels of condensate per day. Shah Deniz Stage 2 additionally provides 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year (bcma) and 105,000 barrels of condensate per year. In September 2013, gas sales agreements were signed between Shah Deniz Consortium and 9 European companies, and the Final Investment Decision was made in December. Furthermore, the Shah Deniz Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) was extended from 2036 to 2048.

The first gas under the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project was produced in 2018, and on 30 June that year, the first commercial gas was exported to Türkiye. The delivery of Shah Deniz gas to Europe commenced on 31 December 2020.

"Umid" field

The Umid field was discovered in 2010 and is gas-condensate field discovered during Azerbaijan’s period of independence. The Umid field is located in the Caspian Sea, 75 kilometers south of Baku. The reserves of the field are estimated at 200 billion cubic meter of gas and 40 million tons of condensate.   

The operation of the field began in 2012. The project is implemented by the Umid-Babek Operating Company (UBOC) under a Risk Service Agreement.

Absheron Field

The Absheron gas-condensate field is located in the Absheron archipelago of the South Caspian oil and gas basin, approximately 85–100 kilometers east of Baku, at a sea depth of around 350–550 meters. The hydrocarbon reserves of the Absheron field amount to 303 billion cubic meters of gas and 100 million tons of condensate.

Production at the field began in 2023, and the operator of the project is JOCAP.

Karabakh Field

The Karabakh field is situated in the southern Caspian basin, about 120 kilometers east of Baku, and 20–25 kilometers away from the Neft Dashlari (Oil Rocks) and Gunashli fields, in the northern part of the Absheron archipelago. Discovered in 2020, Karabakh is the first oil field discovered during Azerbaijan’s independence period. The field’s initially estimated geological reserves exceed 60 million tons of oil.

In May 2025, bp became the operator of the project, acquiring a 35% share.

Central East Azeri (ACE)

Following the extension of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) until 2049 in 2017, the final investment decision (FID) on the Azeri-Central-East (ACE) project — the first major investment by the ACG partners after the extension — was made in April 2019.

The ACE project represents the next stage of development of the ACG field. Over the project’s operational lifetime, up to 300 million barrels of oil are expected to be produced. The ACE platform, operated from the Sangachal terminal, is bp’s most advanced platform globally in terms of technological and digital capabilities. 

Oil production from the platform began in 2024.