The committee said Azerbaijan exported 2.8 million tonnes of oil in the first month of this year, up from 2.7 million in the same month of 2014.

Crude oil and condensate production in Azerbaijan rose to 3.7 million tonnes in January this year from 3.6 million tonnes in January 2014, the first increase since 2013, a source at the State Statistics Committee said last week.

The source, who declined to be named, said rising oil output at the main Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oilfields operated by BP had been the reason for the overall increase.

Exports of oil via Russia through the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline amounted to 84,912 tonnes in January 2015, up from 84,795 tonnes a year earlier.

Exports through the Baku-Supsa pipeline via Georgia declined to 375,641 tonnes from 377,543 tonnes, while exports through Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan via Georgia and Turkey were at 2.283 million tonnes, up from 2.213 million tonnes.

Oil exports shipped by rail via Georgia rose to 118,088 tonnes from 85,365.

Azerbaijan's total oil exports dropped 3.5 percent to 33.04 million tonnes in 2014 from 34.25 million in 2013.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)