Azerbaijan Wants Tighter Oversight On BP-Led Project

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natiq Aliev has said there should be tighter control over the work of an international consortium led by British Petroleum.

Aliev said production at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunsehli site was "abnormal."

The Energy Minister's comments come after President Ilham Aliev said on October 12 that "numerous mistakes" by the BP-led consortium might have cost his country some $8 billion in lost revenue.

BP Azerbaijan says it is working with Azerbaijan's state company SOCAR to address production issues.

In 2010, production at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli site peaked at more than 823,000 barrels per day but in 2011 averaged only some 717,600 barrels per day.


Based on reporting by AP and ITAR-TASS