Falling output at the main Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oilfields has been a cause of concern in Baku.
British oil major BP and its partner, Azeri state energy firm SOCAR, tried to calm those worries in 2013, saying production had stabilised. Total oil output rose in 2013 for the first time since 2011.
But the decline continued last year. Output from the ACG fields fell to 24.2 million tonnes, or an average 655,700 barrels per day (bpd) in January-September from 663,200 bpd in the same period in 2013 and 656,000 bpd in the first half of 2014, BP-Azerbaijan said in November.
BP started maintenance work at the Central Azeri and West Azeri platforms on Oct. 31, halting operations for a month, in a move that could further reduce oil production in the country. Production resumed on November 27.