BP's Shah Deniz Platform down for Planned Maintenance

British oil major BP has suspended operations on the Shah Deniz platform in the Caspian Sea as well as the Shah Deniz facility inside the Sangachal terminal for planned maintenance from Aug. 2, the company said on Monday.

Shah Deniz, Azerbaijan's biggest gas field, is being developed by partners including BP, Azeri state energy company SOCAR and others.

"In accordance with the plan, production from the Shah Deniz platform will be suspended on 2nd August for about 20 days to enable efficient maintenance, inspection and project work to be undertaken," field operator BP's Azerbaijan business said in a statement.

"This is a routine, planned programme and is part of normal operations ... The shut-down is also included in the annual production forecast," it said.

Natural gas output from the offshore field rose to 2.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the first quarter of this year from 2.32 bcm in the same period of 2014. It produced 0.6 million tonnes of condensate, the same as in the first quarter of last year.

Shah Deniz is estimated to contain 1.2-1.5 trillion cubic metres of gas. Shah Deniz I has been pumping gas since 2006, while gas from its second stage is expected to reach Europe by 2019-2020.

BP said on Monday that production from the main Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oilfields operated by BP as well as export operations and loadings at ports of Ceyhan in Turkey and Supsa in Georgia would continue as normal.

Reporting by Nailia Bagirova