Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 13
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
Bahar Energy Ltd, which operates Azerbaijan’s Bahar-Gum Deniz block of oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea, increased sales of natural gas produced from the block by 22 percent in the first half of 2017, a source in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas market told Trend.
On average, Bahar Energy sold 691 barrels of oil and 487,250 cubic meters of gas daily in 1H17, according to the source.
“Compared to 1H16, the volume of oil sales decreased by 17 percent, while the sales of natural gas increased by 22 percent.”
In the first half of 2017, the average cost of the sold oil was $44.7 per barrel, as compared to $34.28 per barrel in the same period of 2016, the source said.
“As for gas, from April 1, 2017, it is being sold at the price fixed in the updated contract with [Azerbaijani state oil company] SOCAR, which is $95 per 1,000 cubic meters. However, given the fact that the gas had been sold at a different price before April, its average cost in the first half amounted to $117.24 per 1,000 cubic meters,” the source said, adding that overall, the company's net loss in 1H17 amounted to $4.5 million.
SOCAR signed a PSA in 2009 with Bahar Energy Ltd. for exploration, rehabilitation, development and extraction at the Bahar-Gum Deniz block.
An 80-percent stake in Azerbaijan’s Bahar Energy Ltd Operating Company is owned by the US Greenfields Petroleum Corporation and a 20-percent stake – by SOCAR.
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