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Gas leak investigation under way at Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli

23 September 2008 16:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ramil Mammadli â€“ APA. Investigation into gas leak at Central Azeri platform in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea is under way, said BP Azerbaijan spokeswoman Tamam Bayatli.
She said the staff was evacuated and the works halted as safety measure after the gas leak was detected.
According to her, West Azeri platform was also shut down because it processes oil and gas produced at central Azeri.
She said the origin of the gas leak in water is being examined.
Footages of the site have been made.
On September 17, Azerbaijan International Operating Company, a BP-led consortium, first halted oil production at Central Azeri field due to a gas leak and then suspended West Azeri last week, halving oil extraction from the group of giant Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli Fields.
Neither AIOC nor State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) knows when production will be resumed.
The Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) group of fields produces more than 800,000 barrels per day.
The total daily production rate at Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli reached 841,169 barrels per day in July.
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli participating interests are: BP (operator â€“ 34.1%), Chevron (10.2%), SOCAR (10%), INPEX (10%), StatoilHydro (8.6%), ExxonMobil (8%), TPAO (6.8%), Devon (5.6%), ITOCHU (3.9%), Hess (2.7%).