Azernews.Az

Azeri oil exports will fall to multi-month lows in November and December as oil major BP puts Caspian Sea platforms on maintenance work in a move that will further tighten already scarce supplies of light and sweet crude grades to Europe, Reuters reported.

A halt of supplies from Libya, production problems in the UK and Norwegian North Sea, lower supplies from Russia, central Asia, Nigeria and Angola have all cut supplies, especially of high quality, light, low sulphur crude oil.

Analysts believe a series of supply disruptions have helped keep oil strong this year despite a weakening outlook for the world economy and global fuel demand.

In a move adding to supply fears, BP said on Tuesday it was suspending production at three platforms at its Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) Caspian oil field for up to 15 days each.

Azeri oil exports would be cut from Oct. 20 and last five weeks, said Tamam Bayatly, a spokeswoman for BP in Baku.

"Production from the Azeri platforms -- East Azeri, West Azeri, and Central Azeri will be suspended in a planned sequence in order to enable efficient maintenance work to be undertaken," she said.

Total production at all three platforms is at least 560,000 barrels per day, data showed.

Trading sources said on Tuesday Azeri Light exports from the Turkish port of Ceyhan might decline for a fifth straight month to as low as 18 million barrels in November from 20 million in October and as high as 27 million in October 2010.

"It should support prices of light grades and at least partially cushion against a general decline in oil prices," one trader familiar with preliminary export estimates said. A final export plan for Azeri Light for November would be released in early October.

Last week, Azerbaijan slashed expectations for oil production by more than 100,000 barrels per day to 900,000 bpd for the whole of 2011 but it was not clear which months would be affected most.

The country said lower production was due to the fact that BP was now undertaking more repair and maintenance works at its platforms worldwide following a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Output at the Chirag oilfield, part of the BP-led ACG group, which combines three fields, was halted for two weeks for maintenance in July, shutting in output of 80,000-85,000 barrels per day.