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Oil production on East Azeri platform suspended

Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AMOK) has suspended oil development on the East Azeri platform on the Caspian shelf on Thursday

BAKU, October 20 (Itar-Tass) — Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AMOK) has suspended oil development on the East Azeri platform on the Caspian shelf on Thursday.

This is a planned break because of the need of maintenance envisaged in a yearly program, coordinated with shareholders, and an annual budget of the company, AMOK told Itar-Tass. Maintenance operations are to continue approximately for 10-12 days; then oil production will be resumed, it said. In accordance with the November schedule of maintenance in mid-November oil production will be suspended for approximately the same period on the West Azeri platform, in the beginning of December oil production will be suspended on the Central Azeri platform, It said.

The company confirmed that in connection with maintenance operations oil production on the platforms of the Azeri deposit belonging to the Azeri - Chirag- Guneshli oil field will be curtailed, but not stopped altogether. AMOK will continue oil development on the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field, and oil exports will be continued via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines.

Over the first six months in 2011 the average volume of oil production on the East Azeri platform totaled 131,900 barrels, while the overall oil production on the Azeri deposit made up 566,600 barrels.

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