Azerbaijan, Baku, March 6 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
The Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and the U.S. UOP company will soon sign a contract on the preparation of a feasibility study in a project to install catalytic reforming, a SOCAR source reported.
He said the contract is under development.
"The sides are working on the contract, which will soon be signed and stipulates the preparation of the feasibility study," the source said.
The source added that this project will cover furnace reconstruction at the facility and its transfer to a line reactor.
The source noted that an automated control system will be implemented in 2012.
The catalytic reforming was commissioned on Dec. 14, 1980. The first production was obtained on Dec. 16. The installation was based on UOP technology. The project was implemented by the French company Litvin.
The Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery pays great attention to cooperation with UOP in carrying out the necessary reconstruction work to improve the quality of motor fuel produced by the refinery, Chief Elman Ismayilov said earlier at a meeting with UOP President Rajeev Gautam.
SOCAR, which owns two refineries in Azerbaijan, has been working to improve the quality of the diesel fuel and gasoline produced by the company.
SOCAR intends to switch to Euro-3 standard gasoline production in 2012.
SOCAR is the sole oil producer in Azerbaijan. The company has two refineries with a total capacity of 20 million tons per year.