Azernews.Az

BAKU – Oil giant BP, which operates Azerbaijan’s major Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) fields in the Caspian Sea, has resumed oil production from the Chirag platform that was suspended earlier over technical security, BP Azerbaijan said Tuesday.

The platform currently produces 98,000 barrels per day, as before.

Oil output at Chirag was suspended on December 11 after testing revealed that the fire protection system needed repair.

The Baku-Supsa pipeline has also been suspended due to the repair work. BP Azerbaijan spokesperson Tamam Bayatly said a resumption of oil transportation through the conduit depends on the schedule of tanker traffic in the Georgian port of Supsa.

"We are currently pumping oil into tanks at the Sangachal Terminal. There are currently no tankers at the Supsa terminal, and when they arrive, we will begin transporting oil through the Baku-Supsa [pipeline]."

The ACG fields produce most of Azerbaijan’s oil. The BP-operated Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which runs through Georgia and Turkey, is transporting oil extracted at the fields to world markets. The Baku-Supsa pipeline, which stretches to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, transports the country’s crude as well.