Azerbaijan, Baku, March 3 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will begin to receive Venezuelan Santa Barbaran oil in the near future, and begin to sell it in America markets, SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev said on Thursday.
Abdullayev said the Belarusian side has received Azeri Light from SOCAR. The representatives of SOCAR and the Venezuelan side will meet in Belarus this week, following which SOCAR will start to receive Santa Barbara oil and sell it to the U.S. market.
"The Belarusian side has already received a few batches of Azeri Light oil from us. This week, Belarus will host a meting of representatives of SOCAR and the Venezuelan side, and we will begin to receive Venezuelan oil and sell it in the markets of American countries," he added.
A contract for the supply of oil from Azerbaijan was signed between the Belarusian Oil Company and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). Under the contract, about 4 million tons of oil will be supplied in 2011. Oil will be delivered to the port South, and then by the Odessa-Brody and Drujba pipelines to the Mozyr oil refinery. A contract for pumping hydrocarbon raw material using the Odessa -Brody pipeline was signed between CJSC Belarusian Oil Company and JSC Ukrtransnafta. Azerbaijani oil will be supplied to Belarus simultaneously with the supply of raw material from Venezuela.
Oil supplies to Belarus through Ukraine open to Azerbaijan, the Caribbean and the U.S. markets, as the Belarusian, Venezuelan and Azerbaijani sides have agreed to swap supplies.
Venezuela has an obligation to supply oil for Belarusian oil refineries. However, this project requires a significant investment in crude oil transportation. The presence of the swap contract allows SOCAR to deliver oil from Azerbaijan to Belarus, and in turn, to send Venezuelan oil to South America. Specifically, SOCAR is interested in acquiring Venezuelan Santa Barbara oil to sell on the U.S. market. SOCAR would supply oil to Belarus and receive the same amount from Venezuela.