Azerbaijan's oil production to remain stable in 2015-2016, EIA says

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

Azerbaijan's oil production will remain stable at 0.87 million barrels per day in 2015 and 2016, according to a short-term energy outlook released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on July 7.

The country's oil production in the third and fourth quarters of 2015 will amount to 0.88 million bpd compared to 0.86 million bpd in the first and 0.87 million bpd in the second quarter of the year.

In 2016, Azerbaijan's oil production will remain at 0.88 million bpd in the first and second quarters and reach 0.87 million bpd in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

In June, in its monthly report, OPEC said oil production in Azerbaijan in 2015 will remain unchanged.

In the first quarter of 2015, oil production in Azerbaijan amounted to 0.85 million bpd. In the second quarter, the cartel expects oil production in the country at 0.87 million bpd, in the third quarter - 0.86 million bpd, in the fourth quarter - at the level of 0.79 million bpd.

Azerbaijan, wholly located within the South Caspian Sea basin, is among the oldest oil producers in the world. The country is one of the Caspian region's most important strategic export routes to the West.

According to BP, the proven oil reserves of the country amounted to seven million barrels per day in early 2014. Last year oil production in the country amounted to 0.931 million barrels per day.

The country's largest hydrocarbon basins are located offshore in the Caspian Sea, particularly the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of oil and gas fields, which accounted for almost 75 percent of Azerbaijan's total oil output in 2013.

Similar to its share of total production, ACG also holds over 70 percent of Azerbaijan's total reserves, with about 5 billion barrels located in this field.

The ACG field is developed jointly with foreign partners.

In the first quarter of 2015, British BP and partners have produced 8 million metric tons (59 million barrels) of oil on the ACG block of oil and gas fields, which is similar to the rate in January-March 2014.