Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 20 / Trend A.Badalova /
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is hopes to refine its oil closer to European markets - in any country where there is a viable opportunity to increase profits for the organization and the country, a senior company representative told Trend today.
"Having shares or participation in an oil refinery does not mean buying the plant," the official said. "This is a complicated and lengthy process. SOCAR planned to take part in oil processing not only in Italy, but also in other countries as well."
SOCAR is planning to acquire "substantial" shares of an Italian oil refinery this year and expand exports of Azeri Light to Asia, SOCAR Trading Chief Valeriy Qolovushkin said earlier.
Azeri Light is produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields. The oil is exported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa pipelines and railway from Batumi.