Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.25 / Trend E. Ismailov /
SOCAR Trading, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), intends to triple the volume of sales of crude oil and petroleum products in the next five years, Valery Golovushkin, President and Chief Executive Director of the company, based in Switzerland, said in an interview with Rauters.
He said also, the company may acquire refining assets in order to join leading world players with operations on all continents.
During last year Socar Trading's turnover amounted to $19 billion, Golovushkin said.
"We should increase volumes by three times. It is real. We must be as Gunvor or Trafigura," he said.
According to him, the company sells about 80 percent of Azeri Light oil from the block Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli. British BP is operator of the development of the block.
Due to the fact that oil production from the fields reached its peak at about one million barrels per day, the future growth of Socar Trading's operations will fall to oil trade of third parties in Asia, Europe, Africa, USA and Canada, he said. In 2010, 37 percent of SOCAR's activity fell to oil trade of third parties, but this year this figure should increase.
Socar Trading is building a terminal for oil storage at the port of Fujairah (UAE).
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