Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.18
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) refused to transfer the old bitumen unit from Azneftyag refinery to Baku Oil Refinery named after Heydar Aliyev, the senior official of SOCAR told Trend.
Earlier SOCAR considered the possibility of transfer of the bitumen plant to Baku Oil Refinery, based on the production of light oil within the framework of plans to demolish the Azneftyag refinery.
The study of this variant showed its ineffectiveness, the representative of SOCAR said.
However, this does not mean that the work of the Azneftyag refinery will not be stopped. The plant will eventually close, but by this time the Baku Oil Refinery named after Heydar Aliyev will have organized the new production capacities that will help to end the activities of Azneftyag without consequences. New production will be organized, and it will also produce bitumen. The organization of new production requires up to four years after the approval of the investment program.
"The main objective is not only to organize the production of bitumen, but also to ensure the production of gasoline and diesel fuel, in accordance with Euro-5 environmental standards," a senior official of SOCAR said.
Timeline for implementation of this project will depend on the financing process. Talking about funding sources and opportunities for implementation of the project at the company's own expense, a company spokesman said that SOCAR is currently implementing major projects and carrying out these works at its own expense and it will be a sufficiently large financial burden for the company.
The issue of funding of the project will be decided after reviewing it at the level of the national government, with the participation of relevant ministries and government agencies. Then the agreed solution will be sent to the head of state for approval.
The stoppage of the bitumen plant at the Azneftyag refinery will not affect the provision of needs of the country in this petroleum product, because the process of bitumen production will be permanent, a senior official of SOCAR said.
Oil products are produced at two Baku refineries with a total capacity of 16 million metric tons of oil per year. Both plants are owned by SOCAR, which annually processes approximately 7 million metric tons of oil, extracted onshore and offshore at the expense of its own funds. Only last year, Azerbaijan produced 5.09 million metric tons of the main petroleum products.