Azeri BP-operated oil output in Jan-Sept near 2013 level

TBILISI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Oil output at BP -led oilfields in Azerbaijan in January through September declined slightly from a year earlier, BP-Azerbaijan said on Thursday.

Falling oil production at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oilfields, which account for most of Azerbaijan's output, has raised concern in the former Soviet republic.

Oil output at the ACG declined slightly to 655,700 barrels per day (bpd) in January-September 2014 from 663,200 bpd in the same period last year and 656,000 bpd in the first half of 2014.

Azerbaijan's total crude oil and condensate production fell to 35.6 million tonnes in January-October from 36.1 million tonnes in the same period last year, a source at the State Statistics Committee said last week. This was driven by declines at fields operated by BP.

The British oil major and its partner, Azeri state energy firm SOCAR, tried to calm worries about decline in oil production last year by saying production had stabilised. Total oil output grew last year for the first time since 2011.

BP started maintenance work at the Central Azeri and West Azeri platforms on Oct. 31, halting operation for a month, in a move that could further reduce oil production in the country.

Natural gas output from the Shah Deniz offshore fields in Azerbaijan declined to 7.25 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the first three quarters of 2014 from 7.3 bcm in the same period last year. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Timothy Heritage)