Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.18
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has great potential to export diesel fuel and lubricants, the company head Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters on Sept.17, commenting on the possible export of petroleum products from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan.
He said SOCAR has a limited potential of exporting vehicle fuel due to the growing consumption of this type of petroleum product in the domestic market, adding that only a small volume of this fuel is considered for export.
SOCAR is the only producer of petroleum products in Azerbaijan; it owns two oil refineries, as well as gas stations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Switzerland.
Kazakhstan's First Deputy Energy Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said at a press conference in Astana on Sept.16 that Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas National Oil and Gas Company is holding negotiations with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) to purchase fuels and lubricants.
The deputy minister went on to add that it has been agreed to import around 690,000 metric tons of gasoline to Kazakhstan, stressing that to date, only 9,600 metric tons of gasoline has been imported to the country, 9,700 metric tons of gasoline was shipped from the country and 200 metric tons of gasoline is yet to be delivered.
Karabalin underscored that one third of the fuels and lubricants consumed in Kazakhstan is imported from Russia.
The first deputy minister underscored that the significant difference in prices for fuels and lubricants in Kazakhstan and Russia also prompted Kazakhstan to turn to its neighbors (Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan).
Currently, SOCAR is carrying out work on modernization of the processing facilities, as growth is observed in the fuel consumption in the country.
In total, Azerbaijan produced 3.1 million metric tons of major types of oil products in Jan.-Aug., compared to over 3.43 million metric tons in the same period of 2013.
In total, Azerbaijan produced 5.09 million metric tons of major types of petroleum products in 2013.
SOCAR includes Azneft (the enterprise producing oil and gas on land and sea), Azerkimya (chemical industry), Azerigas (gas distribution) production associations. The State Oil Company also includes a number of processing enterprises, service enterprises, institutions engaged in geophysical and drilling operations.