Resumption of output at Caspian oil platform delayed till 2009
Oil production at the Central Azeri platform in
Azerbaijan`s major Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil fields in the
Caspian Sea will resume in 2009 at the earliest, Natig Aliyev,
Minister of Energy and Industry has said.
"Extraction of oil from the platform will be possible in March or April," he predicted. Following a gas leak at Central Azeri on September 17, work on the platform was suspended. Shortly after the accident, production was suspended at another offshore platform, West Azeri. The interruption caused a 50% reduction in overall ACG output.
The president of the state oil company SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, earlier said that production at the platform would be resumed by the end of the year.
Some reports claim that Azerbaijan is in no rush to resume Central Azeri output due to sliding world crude prices.
Oil production at the platform began in February 2005.
Central Azeri is located 100 km east of Baku at water depths of up to 128 meters. Its facilities include a production and drilling platform operating 48 wells, as well as a 30-inch oil pipeline and a 28-inch gas pipeline linked to the Sangachal Terminal.
"Extraction of oil from the platform will be possible in March or April," he predicted. Following a gas leak at Central Azeri on September 17, work on the platform was suspended. Shortly after the accident, production was suspended at another offshore platform, West Azeri. The interruption caused a 50% reduction in overall ACG output.
The president of the state oil company SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, earlier said that production at the platform would be resumed by the end of the year.
Some reports claim that Azerbaijan is in no rush to resume Central Azeri output due to sliding world crude prices.
Oil production at the platform began in February 2005.
Central Azeri is located 100 km east of Baku at water depths of up to 128 meters. Its facilities include a production and drilling platform operating 48 wells, as well as a 30-inch oil pipeline and a 28-inch gas pipeline linked to the Sangachal Terminal.
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