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By Margarita Antidze
BAKU, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Oil output from BP -ledoilfields in Azerbaijan in 2014 was down slightly from a yearearlier, BP-Azerbaijan said on Thursday, driving a fall in thecountry's total oil production.
Falling oil production at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG)oilfields, which account for most of Azerbaijan's output, hasraised concern in the former Soviet republic.
Oil output at the ACG declined to 31.5 million tonnes in2014 from 32.2 million tonnes in 2013.
BP said the consortium spent approximately $1 billion inoperating expenditure and $2.3 billion in capital expenditure onACG activities in 2014. In 2013, it spent about $772 million inoperating expenditure and $2.8 billion in capex.
BP said more than 298.5 million barrels of oil had beenexported from the Sangachal terminal in 2014.
Azerbaijan's total crude oil and condensate production fellto 41.9 million tonnes last year from 43.1 million tonnes in2013, a source at the State Statistics Committee said inJanuary.
The British oil major and its partner, Azeri state energyfirm SOCAR, tried to calm worries about declines in oilproduction in 2013, saying production had stabilised. Total oiloutput rose in 2013 for the first time since 2011.
BP started maintenance work at the Central Azeri and WestAzeri platforms on Oct. 31, halting operations for a month, in amove that could further reduce oil production in the country.Production resumed on Nov. 27.
Natural gas output from the Shah Deniz offshore fields inAzerbaijan rose to 9.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year from9.8 bcm in 2013.
Shah Deniz is developed by a group of investors includingBP, Statoil, and SOCAR. It is estimated to contain1.2-1.5 trillion cubic metres (tcm) of gas.
Shah Deniz I has been pumping gas since 2006, while gas fromits second stage is expected to reach Europe by 2019-20.
Overall gas production in Azerbaijan rose to 25.2 bcm inJanuary-September 2014, from 24.0 bcm in the same period lastyear. There is no data for total gas production in Azerbaijan in2014 so far.
BP said the Shah Deniz consortium had spent around $0.4billion in operating expenditure and $3.9 billion in capitalexpenditure last year. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze, editing by William Hardy)