BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 13. Azerbaijan's liquids supply is forecasted to increase by around 20,000 b/d, reaching an average of 0.7 mb/d, Trend reports.
According to the latest forecast from OPEC, this growth is expected to be driven, in part, by the Shah Deniz, Absheron, and Umid-Babek gas condensate projects.
Additionally, the introduction of a seventh Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) platform is anticipated to boost production in Azerbaijan's ACG oil fields during the year, the organization noted.
Meanwhile, in December, Azerbaijan experienced a 14,000 b/d month-on-month decline in liquids production, reaching an average of 0.6 mb/d, marking a year-on-year drop of 94,000 b/d. According to official sources, crude production averaged 482,000 b/d, while NGL output stood at 122,000 b/d.
The projected liquids supply for 2023 in Azerbaijan is anticipated to decrease by approximately 60,000 b/d, averaging 0.6 mb/d, OPEC said. This downward revision is attributed to lower-than-expected production at major oil fields in December, primarily impacting legacy reservoirs such as the ACG oil fields. Despite this, the declines are expected to be offset by ramp-ups in other fields from the previous year, the bloc pointed out.
At the same time, the outlook for 2025 suggests a slight increase in liquids supply in Azerbaijan, with a projected rise of approximately 10,000 b/d, averaging 0.7 mb/d. According to OPEC, this growth is anticipated to be fueled by production increases in various projects, including ACG and Umid-Babek, which are expected to offset declines from other mature fields.
In January 2024, Azerbaijan increased gas production by 30 million cubic meters. As the country's Energy Ministry reported, during this period, 2.3 bcm of gas were exported out of a total of 4.3 bcm. Furthermore, Azerbaijan's oil production for January amounted to 2.5 million tons, of which 2.1 million tons were sent for export.
Azerbaijan's commitment under OPEC+ cooperation until the end of 2023 is to lower output by 33,000 barrels per day, with a daily crude oil production quota of 684,000 barrels.
Azerbaijan's quota is set at 551,000 barrels of crude oil per day beginning in the first quarter of January 2024.