Azerbaijan, Baku, April 11 / Trend, A.Akhundov, E.Ismayilov /
Assets of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) amount to 17 billion manat, SOCAR Vice-President on economic issues Suleyman Gasimov said during a forum on creating a new complex for oil and gas processing and petrochemical production in Azerbaijan on Wednesday.
He said last year the company's net profit amounted to 879 million manat.
Transition to international financial reporting standards since 2008 allowed the company to receive ratings from international rating organizations (Fitch Ratings - ВВВ-/stable, Moody`s - Ba1/stable., S&P - BB + / stable.)
"It increased the company's ability to attract funds from foreign banks to finance projects, both in Azerbaijan and abroad," Gasimov said.
He said another step in this direction was issue of Eurobonds in early 2012.
"Some 299 shareholders offered $4.6 billion for the securities issued by the company in the amount of $500 million," he said.
According to Gasimov, in the future all this will create conditions and opportunities for problem-free attraction of the necessary funds for such major and capital-intensive projects as the construction of the pipeline Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), a new complex of oil and gas processing and petrochemical production in Azerbaijan, creating a new oil refinery STAR in Turkey and other projects.