XRG Says Absheron Gas Could Reach 16 Markets

Absheron gas could potentially reach 16 export markets, Bassem Tadros, Director of Asset Management at XRG, said in an interview with Trend published on 27 October 2026. XRG is the international investment arm of Abu Dhabi's ADNOC and holds 30% of the Absheron project.

Tadros said the partners' final investment decision, announced on 26 September 2026, "commits us to the next development stage". The ownership split is TotalEnergies (operator) 35%, SOCAR 35% and XRG 30%, the same shares set out in CBJ's earlier report on the full-field development decision.

Where the gas could go

A long-term sales agreement with Turkish state company BOTAŞ provides an outlet for future supply to Türkiye, Trend reported. CBJ covered the marketing arrangements with BOTAŞ earlier. Beyond Türkiye, the Southern Gas Corridor, about 3,500 km long through Georgia and Türkiye toward Europe, delivers more than 25 billion cubic metres of gas a year, according to the Trend report. The interview does not name the 16 potential markets.

Scale of the project

Start-up of the full-field development is expected in 2029. Daily gas output would rise fourfold, from 150 million to 600 million cubic feet, with nearly 50,000 barrels of condensate a day, Trend said. The first phase has supplied Azerbaijan's domestic market since 2023. In annual terms, TotalEnergies' September figures put gas at between 1.5 and 6 billion cubic metres a year.

"Could potentially" is the key phrase. A market becomes real only with a sales contract and pipeline capacity, and the interview reports neither beyond the BOTAŞ agreement. CBJ also reported on XRG's completed stake in the Southern Gas Corridor.

A rough sense of scale

If output rises from 1.5 to 6 billion cubic metres a year, the increase is 4.5 billion cubic metres, which is about 18% of the corridor's reported 25 billion cubic metres a year, by CBJ's calculation. That is a scale comparison only: the reports do not say how much Absheron gas would travel through the corridor, and some would serve Azerbaijan's domestic market, which the first phase has supplied since 2023. Final volumes will depend on the marketing contracts that the partners are still to announce.

What to watch

• Which markets beyond Türkiye sign supply deals, and whether volumes are firm or optional.
• Whether Southern Gas Corridor capacity can absorb extra Absheron output by 2029 without further expansion.
• Delivery milestones, including pipe supply and offshore installation, that will show whether the 2029 start-up holds.

Sources: Trend, 27 October 2026