Azerbaijan, Baku, April 23 / Trend, A.Akhundov, E.Ismayilov /
A decline in oil production in Azerbaijan is due to change of plans regarding time-frame of development of oil reserves in the country, Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee Chairman Arif Veliyev said on Monday.
"The decline in production in Azerbaijan is not associated with a decline in oil reserves level, but with the extension of their development time-frame to get yield for a longer period. It is planned measure," Veliyev said.
Azerbaijan will produce 45.45 million tons of oil in 2012 compared to about 45.3 million tons in 2011, SOCAR Vice President for Geology, Geophysics and Field Development Khoshbakht Yusifzade said earlier.
The proven oil reserves in Azerbaijan are 2 billion tons, Yusifzade said.
In 2010 oil production in Azerbaijan exceeded 50 million tons. One of the main reasons for the decline in the country's production last year is technical work on the platforms, located on the block of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil and gas fields.
At the same time SOCAR leadership has repeatedly stated that the optimum volume of oil production in Azerbaijan is 50 million tons per year.