BAKU - Azerbaijan's crude oil production rose by 13.5 percent in January-November year-on-year to 46.36 million tonnes, thanks to rising output from the BP-led AIOC group, the State Statistics Committee said on Wednesday.

The AIOC boosted its output from the Chirag, Azeri and Guneshli oilfields to 38.6 million tonnes, up 17.0 percent from the level seen in the first 11 months of 2008.

The rest was produced by the Azeri state oil firm SOCAR and some of its units.

Azerbaijan expects to raise its oil production to 55.0 million tonnes this year from 44.5 million tonnes in 2008.

Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan ships its oil via four main routes -- Russia's largest Black Sea port, Novorossiisk, neighbouring Georgia's Supsa and Batumi ports and Turkey's Ceyhan. (Reporting by Lada Yevgrashina; writing by Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi; editing by Dmitry Sergeyev and Anthony Barker)

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