Azeri 11-Month Oil Output Declines After President Criticizes BP

Azerbaijan pumped less crude in the first 11 months than a year earlier after the nation’s President Ilham Aliyev criticized BP (BP/) Plc for failing to keep up output.

The country, the largest oil producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia and Kazakhstan, delivered 39.3 million metric tons, down 7.35 percent, according to data published today on the website of State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan, known as Socar.

The BP-led Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field in the Caspian Sea, which accounted for 78 percent of the nation’s production last year, cut output 12 percent in the first half, drawing criticism from Aliyev for “grave mistakes” by the London-based company. BP controls 35.8 percent of the field and its partners include Socar, Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA (STL) and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Azerbaijan’s natural gas output grew 12 percent to 26.58 billion cubic meters in the first 11 months, the data showed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zulfugar Agayev in Baku at zagayev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Hellmuth Tromm at htromm@bloomberg.net