Shah deniz compression project
The $2.9 billion SDC project, sanctioned in June 2025, is designed to access and produce low pressure gas reserves in the field and maximize resources recovery.
About the project
On June 3, 2026 the Shah Deniz consortium announced it has taken the final investment decision (FID) for the new Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project, the next stage of development of the giant Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.
Shah Deniz participating interests are: bp (operator – 29.99%), LUKOIL (19.99%), TPAO (19.00%), SGC (16.02%), NICO (10.00%) and MVM (5.00%).
The $2.9 billion SDC project, which follows the previous two stages of the field’s development, is designed to access and produce low pressure gas reserves in the field and maximize resources recovery. The project is expected to enable around 50 billion cubic metres of additional gas and approximately 25 million barrels of additional condensate production and export from the field.
The project involves installation of a new compression facility – an electrically-powered unmanned compression platform, or Normally Unattended Installation (eNUI). It will be installed in 85 metres water depth, approximately 3 kilometres from the existing Shah Deniz Bravo (SDB) platform.
With four 11-MW compressors onboard, the SDC platform is designed to serve as a host facility for gas compression from both the Shah Deniz Alpha (SDA) and SDB platforms, meaning that before flowing to the Sangachal terminal onshore, export gas from the platforms will be compressed at SDC.
The project also includes several associated facilities to be installed offshore in the Shah Deniz contract area, including:
- Infield subsea gas pipelines to and from the existing SDA and SDB platforms' gas export lines.
- A combined power and fiber optic cable from the Sangachal terminal to the SDC platform to power the facility.
- A backup interconnector power and fiber optic cable from SDB to the SDC platform.
Additionally, the project encompasses brownfield works to be undertaken at SDA, SDB, and the Sangachal terminal.
It is expected that the construction of the SDC platform will be completed in 2029 for the facility to be ready to receive first gas for compression from the SDA platform in 2029 and from the SDB platform in 2030.
Project progress
During the first half of the year, the Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project progressed safely and ahead of schedule.
The SDC platform topsides and jacket fabrication activities moved forward as planned at the Bayil fabrication yard and the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deepwater Jackets Factory respectively, with steady progress on primary steel and structural components, including pin piles, jacket elements and subsea structures.
Marine and subsea engineering activities are on track, with the detailed design progressing as planned and key technical reviews successfully completed. Fabrication of the high-voltage subsea interconnector power and fiber-optic cable, as well as subsea pipe sections, was also completed.
Procurement continued to advance across several critical package streams, remaining aligned with fabrication and installation timelines.
