France's Total is upbeat about its latest appraisal well at the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan, suggesting it delivered better-than-expected results.

The operator, with state-owned partner Socar, has already started working on further development options after the result at the ABD-001 well, Denis Lemarchal, the French supermajor’s Azerbaijan general manager, said this week.

Flow test targets were the B and D sections of the Fasila reservoir, which is the most productive horizon in Azerbaijan’s fields.