The Zafar-Mashal structure is located in the deep water part of the Absheron archipelago, 130 km southeast of Baku, on the high seas. The depth of the sea here is 650 to 700 m. The area of the structure is 643 km². The structure is predicted to hold 40 million tons of condensate and 300 bln m3 of gas.
The Zafar elevation was discovered in 1960-1961 thanks to the seismic reflection surveying in the region. The Mashal elevation was discovered in 1985 as a result of seismic surveys.
On 27 April 1999, SOCAR and ExxonMobil signed an agreement on exploration, development, and production sharing in the Zafar-Mashal offshore block in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea (SOCAR 50%, ExxonMobil 30%, Conoco Philips 20%). On 8 May 2000, the agreement was ratified by the Azerbaijani parliament. According to the agreement, ExxonMobil conducted 3D seismic surveys in the Zafar-Mashal block, and the drilling of the first exploration well there started in 2003 at a depth of 618 m. The Danish company Maersk Contractors drilled the well using the Lider floating semi-submersible rig. During the drilling operations, a small productive reservoir was discovered at a depth of 7,087 m with estimated gas reserves of about 50 bln m³. The agreement was terminated on 21 November 2006.
In the future, there is a plan to carry out new operations in the Zafar-Mashal structure.