The Second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum, held in Baku, led on September 26, 2026, to the exchange of several documents between the Azerbaijani state and international energy groups, according to the Presidency of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Omar Al Suwaidi, a representative of ADNOC and its subsidiary XRG, took part in the exchange, alongside officials from SOCAR and TotalEnergies. The figure of more than $10 billion, including more than $7 billion in the non-oil sector, cited by President Ilham Aliyev in his message to participants, actually refers to the previous forum, held in 2025, and not to the agreements concluded this year. The list published for the 2026 edition records the existence of signed documents but provides no cumulative monetary total.

Absheron: A Final Investment Decision Secured

TotalEnergies and its partners announced a final investment decision, the formal authorization to launch the development of a project, covering the full-field development of the Absheron gas and condensate field, offshore Azerbaijan, according to a statement from the French group published on September 26, 2026. Nicolas Terraz, President Exploration-Production at TotalEnergies, described the step as the launch of the field's complete development. The consortium brings together TotalEnergies with a 35% stake, SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state-owned oil and gas company, also with 35%, and XRG, ADNOC's international investment subsidiary, the national oil company of Abu Dhabi, with 30%. TotalEnergies remains the project's operator.

The global gas market has seen comparable moves in recent weeks: Aramco étudierait une scission de sa division gazière évaluée à 100 Md$, while Osaka Gas rachète une participation de BP dans le projet gazier Browse. In Europe, VNG affirme pouvoir livrer son gaz malgré des stocks allemands à 57,6 %, amid heightened attention to supply security. Absheron's first phase, in operation since 2023, produces 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year and 12,000 barrels of condensate per day.

The announced full-field development targets a capacity of 6 billion cubic meters of gas per year and 47,000 barrels of condensate per day, a level that corresponds to the field's total output rather than a volume that would be added entirely on top of the first phase. By simple subtraction between the two announced capacities, the theoretical additional capacity would reach 4.5 billion cubic meters per year and 35,000 barrels per day, a calculation based on announced design figures rather than measured production.

A Timeline Geared Toward Turkey Rather Than the European Union

TotalEnergies expects the new capacity to come online in 2029, according to its own schedule. The gas produced is meant to supply the domestic Azerbaijani market and Turkey through existing infrastructure, the statement specifies, and it does not present Absheron's additional output as a volume contractually earmarked for the European Union. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Energy breaks down export gas sales for the previous fiscal year and the following semester by destination. The European share of these flows should not be confused either with total national production or with a future reservation of Absheron's output.

SOCAR and ExxonMobil Agree on Middle Kura

In the Middle Kura basin, the Azerbaijani presidency confirmed the exchange of a production sharing agreement, the contract governing exploration, development and the sharing of output, between SOCAR and ExxonMobil. The stakes and the operator status of the project are described in a reprise of a SOCAR statement; the contractual text has not been independently reviewed. The agreement covers the exploration of unconventional resources, a stage that so far guarantees neither a commercial discovery nor future production.

Economic Diversification: Two Distinct Indicators

The official narrative of economic diversification rests on two distinct measures, according to presidential statements relayed by the Azerbaijani presidency. The non-oil sector's share of gross domestic product is high, while hydrocarbons continue to dominate the country's export revenue. Stated targets for transit freight and ongoing discussions about data center development represent other avenues raised at the forum, without constituting investments that have already been made.