Azerbaijan, Baku, April 28 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
Stavropol appealed with a proposal to Azerbaijani investors to build a refinery, governor of Stavropol Valery Gajewski said.
"In better times we extracted and processed 7 million tons of oil. At present, we extract only one million. It does not suit us. We do not have a single oil refinery, while the regional economy consumes more than 2.5 million tons. Of course, we apply to SOCAR and businessmen to consider our investment project to build a refinery in the region ", Gajewski said.
He said that Stavropol assumes a power plant to the amount of at least two million tons, but the final decision depends on the investors.
Earlier, SOCAR official said that the leadership of Stavropol has already voiced similar proposal. The Russian side wants to build a refinery in Stavropol, which will work on the Azeri oil. But in this case there is a legal controversy because in accordance with the Russian-Azerbaijani inter-state agreement of 1996, Azerbaijani oil is exported through Russian pipelines by transit (Baku-Novorossiysk). None of the parties in the territory of Russia has right to use it.
In 2009, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $1.816 billion, hitting over 60 percent of total trade turnover with CIS countries.
Foreign trade turnover with Stavropol amounted to $123.3 million last year and exceeds the figure for 2004 twice. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Stavropol in 2009 reduced by 30 percent. In 2008 turnover amounted to over $200 million.
Today about 15,000 Azerbaijanis live in Stavropol.