Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

OPEC predicts that oil production in energy-rich Azerbaijan will remain steady in 2015.

In its August oil market report released on August 11, OPEC said that Azerbaijan’s oil supply is anticipated to average 0.86 million barrels per day, remaining unchanged from the previous Monthly Oil Market Report and indicating steady production in 2015.

The country's crude oil output in June increased by 21,000 bpd to average 0.78 million bpd, following a decline of 57,000 bpd in May, which was a result of maintenance at the West Chirag platform that began on May 21 and lasted through June 6.

The total oil production (crude+NGLs) was pegged at 0.86 million bpd in May.

"On a quarterly basis, Azerbaijan’s oil output is estimated to average 0.85 million bpd, 0.87 million bpd, 0.86 million bpd and 0.79 million bpd, respectively," OPEC noted.

Azerbaijan, wholly located within the South Caspian Sea basin, is among the oldest oil producers in the world. The country is one of the Caspian region's most important strategic export routes to the West.

The country's largest hydrocarbon basins are located offshore in the Caspian Sea, particularly the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields, which accounted for almost 75 percent of Azerbaijan's total oil output in 2013.

Similar to its share of total production, ACG also holds over 70 percent of Azerbaijan's total reserves, with about 5 billion barrels located in this field.

The ACG field is developed jointly with foreign partners.

In the first quarter of 2015, British BP and partners have produced 8 million metric tons (59 million barrels) of oil on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields, which is similar to the rate in January-March 2014.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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