BP allays Baku's concerns at oil field

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- BP is committed to meeting Azeri government expectations at the offshore Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil field, a company executive said.

BP was criticized by the government for underperformance at the ACG complex in the Caspian Sea. Bob Fryar, a vice president at BP in charge of production, told Bloomberg News his company had deployed the best engineers to allay Baku's concerns.

"We remain committed to resolving ACG production issues," he said. "To do this as quickly as possible, we have committed to bringing here BP's best global resources."

Production at ACG during the first half of the year was down 12 percent compared to 2011. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said the situation at the field was "unacceptable."

The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic said production at the field would increase to 255 million barrels in 2014. SOCAR Chief Executive Officer Rovnaq Abdullayev said his company was "happy" with production plateau targets.

ACG, operated by BP, is one of the largest oil complexes in the world. BP also manages the Azeri offshore Shah Deniz natural gas field, seen as a major potential source for European energy consumers.