By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Azerbaijan's oil production will decrease by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 0.8 million bpd in 2015 compared to 0.85 million bpd in 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook.
EIA predicts the country's oil production at 0.84 million bpd and 0.83 million bpd in the third and fourth quarters of 2014 compared to 0.88 and 0.86 million bpd in the first and second quarters of the year respectively.
The highest level of the country's oil production in 2015, according to EIA's forecasts, will be observed in the first quarter - at 0.83 million bpd. In the second quarter the production will amount to 0.81 million bpd, in the third quarter - to 0.79 million bpd, in the fourth quarter - to 0.78 million bpd.
Azerbaijan's proven oil reserves amounted to 7 billion barrels as of early 2013, according to BP. Oil production in the country amounted to 0.872 mbd in 2012.
The main volume of oil produced in Azerbaijan falls on Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore fields block. This block produces Azeri Light oil with a sulfur content of 0.15 percent (35 degrees API).
Participants of the project to develop Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli are: BP (operator - 35.83 percent), Chevron (11.27 percent), Inpex (10.96 percent), AzACG (11.6 percent), Statoil (8.56 percent), Exxon (8 percent), TPAO (6.75 percent), Itocu (4.3 percent) and ONGC Videsh (2.72 percent).