Maintenance at Shah Deniz gas platform suspended til January 19, says Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC) said on Wednesday that unplanned maintenance at the Shah Deniz Alfa gas platform was expected to last until January 19.

The suspension is expected to cut gas flows to Europe by 8.5 million cubic metres per day, the company said on its website.

BP said on Jan. 10 it had suspended the work of the platform, one of two at Azerbaijan's largest natural gas field, after detecting a technical issue at the subsea gas condensate export line between the platform and the Sangachal terminal.

According to BP, Alpha accounts for about 40 per cent of Shah Deniz's output, with the remaining production coming from the Bravo platform, which continues to operate and export gas.

Tamam Bayatli, a spokesperson for BP, told Reuters on Wednesday the company was working to resolve the technical issue.

"We are still focused on resolving the technical issue in the subsea condensate line. We will provide updates once the issue is resolved and normal operations resume," she said.

Azerbaijan exports natural gas to 12 countries, including 10 in Europe.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova and Vladimir Soldatkin Editing by Andrew Osborn)