Azernews.Az

BP, the operator of Azerbaijan’s Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of oil fields in the Caspian Sea, has completed technical operations and launched the Eastern Azeri platform, which was suspended earlier within the maintenance program being carried out at three offshore platforms, BP Azerbaijan told local news agency Trend on Thursday.

"All operations planned on the platform have been successfully completed," BP Azerbaijan said.

Western Azeri, another ACG platform, will be suspended in mid-November.

In accordance with the plan, production at three platforms - Eastern Azeri, Western Azeri and Central Azeri - will be suspended in a planned sequence to ensure effective maintenance.

The company said all the three platforms are not expected to be suspended simultaneously. During the operations on one of the platforms, the two other platforms on the Azeri field will continue production.

Production from two other BP-operated ACG platforms – Chirag and Deepwater Gunashli -- and Azerbaijan’s offshore Shahdaniz field, as well as export operations via South Caucasus Pipeline which is part of Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, and Baku-Supsa oil pipeline, will continue as normal, BP Azerbaijan said.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline and Sangachal Terminal, one of the world’s largest terminals, which holds Azerbaijan’s crude, will continue to operate coordinating their day-to-day operations with continuing production at ACG and Shahdaniz. Liftings at the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan will also continue however with a schedule that reflects the reduction in volume arising from the planned maintenance shutdowns.

ACG participating interests are: BP (operator - 35.83%), Socar (11.65%), Chevron (11.27%), Inpex (10.96%), Statoil (8.56%), ExxonMobil (8%), TPAO (6.75%), Itochu (4.3%), and Hess (2.72%).