Azeri gas output falls 10.7%

Azerbaijan has seen a decline of 10.7% in its gas output year-on-year last month.The decline of gas output to 2.04 billion cubic metres has been attributed to weak demand. "Lower output in January is connected to lower demand on the domestic and foreign markets because of very warm winter temperatures," Ilham Shaban, director of Baku's independent Centre for Petroleum Research, said.This year, Azerbaijan plans to ramp up gas output to levels between 28 Bcm and 29 Bcm. This includes 9.1 Bcm at its major Shah Deniz field.