BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 4. The Shah Deniz consortium is pleased to announce the award of a $321 million contract to Azfen for the fabrication of the topsides unit for the Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project, Trend reports via bp.
This milestone follows the final investment decision announced for the SDC project in June 2025 and marks a significant step forward in the delivery of the project.
The scope of work under the contract includes fabrication, assembly, installation, and integration of an 8,500-tonne topsides unit for the SDC platform. The fabrication works will be carried out in-country at Azfen’s Bayil yard using local infrastructure and resources.
Construction activities for the topsides unit are planned to commence in the fourth quarter of 2025, with completion expected by the end of 2028. These activities are expected to create more than 3,000 jobs, with over 90% of the roles to be filled by the national workforce.
Ewan Drummond, bp senior vice president projects, said: “This is a significant milestone for the SDC project, for the Shah Deniz partnership, and for the country. It reflects the dedication of our teams, the strength of our local partnerships, and our shared commitment to delivering this project to the highest standards of safety, quality, and capital efficiency.”
Azfen’s selection was driven by their proven capabilities, including a strong track record in topsides construction and delivery in Azerbaijan. Their world-class, fully upgraded Bayil fabrication yard offers the necessary capability to integrate and safely load out the topsides unit. This is a key factor in keeping the SDC project on schedule and within budget.
The $2.9 billion SDC project, the next stage of development of the giant Shah Deniz gas field, 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 Shah Deniz field.
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, and additional brownfield works to be undertaken at SDA, SDB, and the Sangachal terminal. Construction activities are planned to commence in 2025, with completion expected in 2029 to be ready to receive first gas for compression from the SDA platform in 2029 and from the SDB platform in 2030.