The oil production of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has decreased by 7.9 percent to 34.5 million tonnes in 2020 compared to the previous year due to obligations under the OPEC+ oil cuts agreement reached in April, the company said on Monday, adding that gas production increased by 4 percent
BAKU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) The oil production of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has decreased by 7.9 percent to 34.5 million tonnes in 2020 compared to the previous year due to obligations under the OPEC+ oil cuts agreement reached in April, the company said on Monday, adding that gas production increased by 4 percent.
In 2019, Azerbaijan produced 37.5 million tonnes of crude oil, while the total gas output amounted to 35.6 billion cubic meters (1.3 trillion cubic feet), according to the company.
"The upward trend in total gas production in the country continued [in 2020], while the oil production declined, mainly due to voluntary oil output cuts imposed by the OPEC+ agreement. Compared to 2019, total natural gas production increased by about 4% to 37.1 billion cubic meters. During the year, Azerbaijan produced 34.5 million tons of crude oil," the company said in a press release.
The OPEC+ member countries in April 2020 reached a historic deal to collectively cut oil output amid a significant drop in prices due to the decreasing demand caused by the pandemic-induced lockdowns. Under the agreement, Azerbaijan committed to maintain the volume of daily production in May-July 2020 at 554,000 barrels, in August-December at 587,000 barrels. In January-March, Azerbaijan, according to the deal, is set to increase oil output by 8,000 barrels per day to meet its obligations to limit production to 595,000 barrels per day.
During the latest meeting of the OPEC+ group on January 5, the members agreed to limit the volume of their oil production to 7.2 million barrels a day in January, to 7.125 million barrels per day in February and 7.05 million barrels per day in March. However, Russia and Kazakhstan were allowed to slightly increase production over the next two months by 65,000 and 10,000 barrels a day, respectively.
