Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
Arzu Azimov, chief executive of SOCAR Trading SA, the marketing arm of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), expects the oil price to reach around $60 a barrel by year end, Reuters reported.
Azimov does not exclude a drop to $40 in the interim, Reuters reported.
As of June 15, the price for August futures of the North Sea Brent oil mix reduced by 1.42 percent up to $49.12 per barrel, while the price for July futures of the WTI oil reduced by 1.40 percent up to $47.81 per barrel.
Azimov also spoke about the plans to expand SOCAR Trading's activity in North America.
"SOCAR's trading division is looking to expand in North America, having opened an office in Calgary in recent months and eyeing a second one in Houston," Azimov said.
"With our Houston office, the volumes will grow," Azimov added.
According to Reuters, the company, which opened an office of some 15 staff in Calgary, is moving away from being just a state-owned marketing arm and is now trading local Canadian crude grades, natural gas and financial derivatives. It also holds some storage at Cushing, Oklahoma.
According to Reuters, last month, SOCAR's Azerbaijani parent announced that it was closing several foreign offices - including those located in Belgium and Germany - to curb spending amid the oil slump.
Azimov said the closures were part of a cost-saving program, but not related to its trading division.
Azimov stressed that instead, market volatility has helped the trading arm.
Headquartered in Geneva, SOCAR Trading was incorporated in December 2007 as the marketing arm of SOCAR with a mandate to market Azeri barrels produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field and other surrounding fields in Azerbaijan.
While the company continues to market the bulk of SOCAR crude oil export volumes from Ceyhan port in Turkey, it has also been able to develop significant third party volumes through both leveraging its system barrels, as well as its experienced traders developing new business. SOCAR Trading's activities cover countries of Europe, Asia and the US.