Azeri gas production up in 2009

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Azerbaijan in the first nine months of the year produced significantly more oil than expected, the minister of industries and energy said.

Natig Aliyev told lawmakers during a socioeconomic review of the first nine months of the year that Azerbaijan produced 277 million barrels of oil, which was significantly higher than anticipated, the Trend news agency reports.

Azerbaijan expects to produce more than 300 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year in the coming years from its Shah Deniz field, he said.

Baku said last week, however, that production at the offshore field was down because of delays at one of the wells operated by the Azeri division of BP.

Azerbaijan sits on some of the richest oil and gas deposits in the world. Aliyev said the country was able to meet the needs of domestic consumers as well as its customers in Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Iran and Europe.