Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6
By Emil Ismayilov -Trend:
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan intends to implement the reconstruction project of the catalytic cracking unit at the Baku Oil Refinery named after Heydar Aliyev in 2017, a source in the company told Trend.
Earlier it was planned for the modernization work to begin in 2014 and be fully completed in 2015.
Azerbaijan for the first time is confronted with the fact that consumption of gasoline is equal to the volumes of its production in the country. This is explained by the growing number of cars in the country. In turn, the modernization and reconstruction work of large plants at refinery named after Heydar Aliyev is needed to increase the quantitative and qualitative indicators of gasoline.
"Once we started importing Premium and Super gasoline, production capacity of AI-92 gasoline is high enough, therefore pressure for the reconstruction has eased. Now we have an additional year and half in stock," the source said.
AI-92 gasoline makes up 90 percent of total consumption in the country, the source said.
Modernization of the unit will make it possible to increase its processing capacity by one million tonnes (from two tonnes to three million tonnes), and gasoline production - by 450,000 tonnes.
The suspension of A-95 gasoline production in Azerbaijan, the transition to its import, as well as free prices on this brand of gasoline associated with non-compliance of opportunities of the SOCAR processing facilities with the country`s need for high octane gasoline, which in a short period increased several times.
Earlier, the price of AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline was regulated by the Tariff (Price) Council in the country. But after the stoppage of AI-95 gasoline production, its import into the country started.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan lowered the rate of customs duty and excise tax on gasoline of high ecological standards, which made it possible to import "Premium Euro-95" and "Super Euro-98" gasoline at low prices and sell it at unregulated prices.
After the start of the import of gasoline with 95 octane, the price of this brand increased from 0.8 AZN (set by the Tariff Council on domestically produced gasoline AI-95) to 0.93 AZN per liter. In turn, the cost of gasoline with an octane number of 98 has been reduced from 1.5 to 1.03 AZN per liter.
The official exchange rate is June 6 0.7843 AZN / USD.
Edited by CN