AIOC reports on oil output in 2000

The Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) announced that it had extracted 5.1 mm tons of crude oil in 2000. This marked a 6.25 % increase on the 1999 output figure of 4.8 mm tons, the AIOC said.
The group, which is currently producing early oil from 11 development wells at the Chirag field, thus accounted for 56.67 % of the total 9 mm tons of oil extracted in Azerbaijan last year, up from 53.93 % of the total in 1999. It also accounted for 68 % of the 7.5 mm tons of oil extracted from Azerbaijani offshore fields last year.
The AIOC further stated that it had exported 4.9 mm tons of crude last year. In 1999, by contrast, it exported 4.8 mm tons. Output and export totals did not match last year due to the loss of 200,000 tons of oil in transit, the consortium said.

Most of the AIOC's oil -- around 4.399 mm tons -- was sent to market via the Baku-Supsa pipeline, which passes through Georgia. (This pipeline is capable of carrying about 5.7 mm tpy of oil.) The group also sent about 501,000 tons of crude to market via the Baku-Novorosiisk pipeline through Russia -- including some 401,000 tons exported by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), which is a shareholder in the AIOC, and 100,000 tons exported by other shareholders.
The AIOC also said it had produced 634.4 mm cm of associated gas last year, the same amount as the year before. All of the gas was turned over to SOCAR, as specified under the consortium's contract, AIOC representatives said.