Azerbaijan to up oil production in 2009

Azerbaijan will produce nearly 50 mm tons of oil in 2009 compared to 45 mm in 2008, a source at the Azerbaijani Industry and Energy Ministry said on May 27. The volume of production for 2009 has been forecast regarding problems in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block.
"However, measures to eliminate problems in the Central Azeri field were taken without any difficulty which enables us to speak about increasing production for this year concerning forecasts," the source said.

About 52 mm tons of oil was planned to be produced last year. But his volume of oil was not produced due to suspension of production on the Central Azeri platform (operated by consortium of foreign companies as a part of the Azeri-Chirac-Gunashli fields), the minister said. Production was amounted to 44.5 mm tons in 2008.
The Central Azeri platform stopped work on Sept. 17, 2008 due to gas spark on the sea near the platform. The production on the Azeri-Chirac-Gunashli fields has been fully resumed and has reached 900,000 bpd, the same volume produced before the Sept. 2008.

Azerbaijan has a great potential to increase production in several year. The republic can produce 65 mm tons of oil per year. We will achieve such results. Here already existing fields are main point.
"Besides current fields, we have many perspective fields," Azerbaijani Industry and Energy Minister Natik Aliyev said earlier.