TotalEnergies unveils world-first automated pipeline cleaner for Azerbaijan’s Absheron gas field

Managing Director and Country Chair at TotalEnergies Azerbaijan Emmanuel de-Guillebon has said that a major innovation in the second phase of developing the Absheron gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea will be the introduction of an automated underwater system for launching pipeline pigs (PIGs), designed to clean pipelines of potential deposits.

He made these remarks at the 30th Anniversary Baku Energy Forum, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

De-Guillebon explained that the subsea pipeline’s considerable length, combined with the transport of a gas and condensate mixture, creates a high risk of wax and hydrate formation.

He noted that during the initial phase of operation, pipeline cleaning would likely need to be carried out on a monthly basis, and that performing such operations manually using marine vessels would require substantial resources and lead to operational downtime. 

The new system will automate the cleaning process, significantly reducing operational costs and downtime. He said that they were developing an underwater unit capable of loading several pigs at once, which would be launched automatically, thereby eliminating the need for costly monthly marine operations. While similar technology has undergone preliminary testing in Brazil, its industrial-scale deployment at Absheron will mark a world first.

De-Guillebon added that they had spent many years developing the concept in collaboration with suppliers and that they were now ready to implement it in Azerbaijan as part of the Absheron project, setting a benchmark for the entire industry.

Located roughly 100 kilometres southeast of Baku, the Absheron field is operated by JOCAP, the joint operating company of Absheron Petroleum. The field produced its first gas in July 2023. In August 2023, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) entered an agreement with SOCAR and TotalEnergies to acquire a combined 30 per cent stake in the field, while SOCAR and TotalEnergies each hold 35 per cent.

By Naila Huseynova