After 1 Month Delay, BP-Led Consortium Resumes Production From Caspian Sea Natural Gas Field
A BP PLC-led consortium resumed production of natural gas at a Caspian Sea field one month after it was halted due to unspecified technical problems, Azerbaijan’s state oil company said Monday.
Gas from the Shah Deniz field — one of Azerbaijan’s largest — has been keenly awaited by both Azerbaijan and neighboring Georgia, both of which have been affected by Russia’s decision to increase prices sharply last year.
The Dec. 15 halt in production forced Georgia to sign stopgap gas supply deals with Moscow at what it considers to be extortionate prices.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan said that gas began flowing from Shah Deniz around 9:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) Sunday and reached onshore terminals a few hours later.
The BP-consortium, which also includes Norway’s Statoil, France’s Total, Russia’s Lukoil and other companies has said it plans to harvest at least 5.4 billion cubic meters of gas from Shah Deniz this year.
