17:39 - 26.10.2017

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Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov has received Vice-President of TOTAL Group of Companies for Southern Europe & the Caspian Region Bernard Clement.

The Ministry of Energy informs that during the meeting the minister stated that the Absheron field having large gas reserves will play a large role in meeting the internal demand and achieving strategic goals on its export.

"We hope that due to a modern rig and experience in the exploration and drilling operations, TOTAL will accelerate work on the development of Absheron field and start extraction of the first gas on schedule," the MoE said.

In his turn, Mr. Clement stated that within the framework of the second phase of development of Absheron field, which will cover the 2020-2023 period, annual gas production will reach 5 bn cu m.

During the meeting the parties also discussed possible participation of TOTAL in the development of the offshore block, including the Umid field and prospective structure Umid-Babek.