Azerbaijan, Baku, September 16 / Trend E.Ismailov /
Production on Azerbaijani gas and condensate Shah Deniz field was stopped because of scheduled repair work and will be resumed on 20th of this month, a senior representative of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) said on Sept. 16. Along with stopping production, the supply of gas through the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) was also suspended.
According to him, before stopping, the production on the field was realized from four wells. One well is in non-operational condition. But its preserving is excluded, because from the very beginning, it has been a "problematic" well, said the company representative.
The SOCAR official said that the forecast for this year on gas production on Shah Deniz is 7.2 billion cubic meters, whereas earlier BP Company (operator of the project) forecasted production at 7.7 billion cubic meters. According to the SOCAR official, the peak production (8.6-9 billion cubic meters) on the field will be achieved next year.
Before stopping, the daily production on the field amounted to 14-15 million cubic meters. Gas transported by South Caucasus Pipeline to Turkey and Georgia. During the summer, Azerbaijan did not receive gas from Shah Deniz.
The contract to develop the offshore Shah Deniz field was signed on June 4, 1996. Participants to the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 percent, Statoil Hydro - 25.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, LukAgip - 10 percent, TPAO - 9 percent, SOCAR - 10 percent.
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