Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.1 /Trend E.Ismayilov/
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is planning to start engineering and geological work as part of establishing a new oil and gas processing and petrochemical production complex in the Garadagh region of Azerbaijan, a source in the oil and gas market told Trend on Wednesday.
The source said that the nature and extent of the project is still under consideration.
"The amount of work is being specified at the moment and engineering and geological work is scheduled to begin within 10 days," the source said.
Current activity aims to determine the sustainability and feasibility of a large complex in Garadagh.
"This is a very important and large project, so all the preparatory work is being done with great care," the source noted.
Vice-president of SOCAR on Strategic Development, Tofig Gahramanov, said that the investment required for the construction of the new complex will be $12-13 billion.
Recoupment of funds invested in the construction of the complex will take six or seven years.
Commissioning of the new processing plant will be phased from 2018-2020. A gas processing plant (GPP) with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters will come first, followed by chemical processing, and finally a refinery with a capacity of 10 million tons.
The GPP will process gas from fields developed by SOCAR, and, if necessary, a proportion from the Shah Deniz field.
Gahramanov said that the complex will produce A-92, A-95, and A-98 gasoline and jet fuel. A significant portion of production will involve the development of diesel fuel, as the demand for diesel is growing.
International companies including Technip, Foster Wheeler AG, and UOP have been involved in the preparation of a feasibility study for the new complex.
The total area of the complex is to be 1,500 hectares.