Azeri Oil Exports Decline

Azerbaijan's oil exports fell 1.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2014 due to a decline in oil production at its main fields, where BP has a major interest, a source at the State Customs Committee said.

The source said Azerbaijan exported 19.941 million tonnes of oil, down from 20.229 million in the same seven months last year.

Falling output at the main Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG)oilfields has raised concerns in Baku.

BP and its partner, Azeri state energy firm SOCAR, have tried to calm those fears by saying last year that production had stabilised. Total oil output grew last year for the first time since 2011.

Azerbaijan's oil and condensate output fell 2.8 percent in January-July 2014, a source at the State Statistics Committee said last week, driven by declines at fields operated by BP.

Exports of oil via Russia through the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline amounted to 593,848 tonnes in the seven months, down from 993,170 tonnes.

Exports through the Baku-Supsa pipeline via Georgia rose to 2.442 million tonnes from 2.261 million tonnes, while exports through Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan via Georgia and Turkey were 16.361 million tonnes, down from 16.432 million.

Oil exports shipped by a rail via Georgia rose to 542,521 tonnes from 542,342 tonnes.

BP said earlier this year that ACG oil production in 2014 might be slightly lower than in 2013 as the company planned maintenance work at the Central Azeri and West Azeri platforms, halting operations for a couple of weeks.

It did not say when the work would start.

Output from ACG fell to an average of 656,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2014 from 672,000 bpd in the same period last year, although production in the first half was still higher than the average of 645,800 bpd produced in the first three months of the year, BP-Azerbaijan said in a statement last week.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Jane Baird)