Azerbaijan expects flat oil output in 2019, gas to rise 20pc

BAKU: Azerbaijan expects oil production to stay flat in 2019 and gas output to rise 20 percent in 2019, state energy company SOCAR said on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan produced 38.758 million tonnes of oil in 2018, almost unchanged from 2017, and 30.592 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas, up from 28.563 bcm produced in 2017.

"We aim at stable oil production, which we have achieved last year, while gas output will be rising ... We expect around 20 percent rise in gas production this year," SOCAR spokesman Ibrahim Ahmadov said.

In January, oil and gas condensate output fell by 0.8 percent year-on-year to 3.334 million tonnes, while gas production rose to 3.062 bcm from 2.487 bcm a year ago.

"We expect to discover more natural gas reserves in the years to come," SOCAR Vice President Elshad Nassirov told Reuters.

Azerbaijan has an estimated 1.3 trillion cubic metres of reserves in its Shah Deniz field and is exploring for more gas reserves in other areas.

BP, with SOCAR, plans to drill the first exploration well in the Shafag-Asiman gas field this year, while SOCAR is searching for gas with France's Total in the Absheron field and with Equinor in the Karabakh field.

Other areas where Azerbaijan sees gas prospects include the Umid and Babek fields, the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields and in the shallow waters off the Absheron peninsula.