Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 8 / Trend E. Ismayilov /
Socar Trading expects to increase oil sales volumes to Asian countries up to 7-9 million barrels per month by late 2011 compared to 5-6 million barrels in the previous months, SOCAR Trading chief executive Valery Golovushkin said.
According to the report posted on Socar Trading's official website with reference to Reuters, Golovushkin explained this by leasing the terminals in South Korea.
Previously, the company signed a deal with the Korea National Oil Corporation to lease storehouses with capacity of 5 million barrels for two years and the possibility of its extension for another year. The company also leased floating storehouse in the form of a supertanker in Malaysian waters.
"Using a new storehouse [in Korea] will increase our sales volumes in Asia," Golovushkin. "The first tanker has been loaded."
The oil terminal will operate in the port of Fujairah (UAE) in November 2011. The capacity of the terminal at the first stage will hit 650,000 cubic meters.
The company intends to increase the number of employees in Singapore. It is connected with bringing the trade volumes of oil products up to 4 million tons a year, taking into account the dominance of black oil.
Socar Trading made a turnover of $19 billion in 2010.
Socar Trading is marketing about 80 percent of Azeri Light crude from the block of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea.
The company has made its office in Singapore fully responsible for the development of trade with crude oil in Asia, including increasing its market share at the expense of long-term contracts.
The presence of Socar Trading in this region is also expanded due to the arbitrage supply of fuel oil from West to East, the supply of bunker fuel to Singapore - the largest bunkering port in the world, and by ensuring that facilities storing oil.