Azeri Gas Output Down Jan-Jun

Azerbaijan’s sale gas production fell by 4.9% to 8.883bn m³ in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period of last year, the country’s state customs committee said July 17. 

However statistics, obtained by NGW from state-run Socar and BP (see tables), showed that gross gas production rose by 2.7% to 14.498bn m³ during the first half as more was re-injected in order to take advantage of oil prices. Dated Brent crude has been about $70-75/barrel for most of this year. 

Azerbaijan’s oil production increased by 1% to 19.341mn metric tons in the period. Baku gained $4.64bn in the first half, almost three quarters of what it earned in the whole of 2017. 

Gas production Jan-Jun (bn m³):

(Source: BP, Socar)

The BP-led  Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) offshore oil block produced 6.2bn m³ gross gas, of which 1.1bn m³ were delivered to Socar for sale, which is 39% lower on a year. 

Another BP-operated field, Shah Deniz 1 (SD1) produced 5bn m³ sale gas, which is 2% down on a year, it told NGW. BP and its partners announced the start-up of Shah Deniz 2 on June 30 2018, including its first commercial gas delivery to Turkey. State-run Socar’s upstream subsidiary Azneft produced 2.8bn m³ sale gas, up 9.8% compared with the previous year mainly thanks to the Bulla Bulla Deniz gas field where output rose by 50%, reaching 180mn m³ in the six months, it told NGW.

Azerbaijan gas production (bn m³):

(Source: BP, Socar)