Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
A Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project of SOCAR GPC, gas processing and petrochemical complex of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, will be made in May-June 2018, Fuad Ahmadov, deputy director general at SOCAR GPC, said at the fourth international conference in Baku titled “Oil refining and petrochemistry of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia” Nov. 29.
Ahmadov noted that the estimated cost of the project is about $4.2 billion.
“Revenues from sales will vary within $800 million -$1.2 billion per year, which is quite attractive,” he said. “The partners are the same, except for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors.”
China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Corporation (HQC), affiliated with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which has extensive experience in the field of project design, procurement and construction, will carry out the engineering design and construction work within the SOCAR GPC project with the support of Azerbaijani companies.
“At the beginning of last year, the HQC said that it could structure financing from China provided that the corporation will act as the main contractor in the project,” Ahmadov noted. “This seemed like an attractive option to us. We gave them a list of large companies (EPC-contactors) that can provide more reliable implementation of the project, and they chose Technip engineering company.”
A marketing study was conducted regarding the financing, and preliminary agreement on financing and investments was prepared, he added.
“Dutch ING bank, China Development Bank (CDB) and Russian Gazprombank are financial consultants of the project,” Ahmadov said. “It is expected that the CDB will be the main creditor. So far, we have held all licensing tenders and identified licensors for the project.”
He noted that by the time when the final investment decision will be made, the project’s budget will be fixed, and the EPC-contract with a specific cost, a specific budget will be signed.
In addition, the issue of financing, which is currently being discussed with Chinese investors, will also be resolved, he added.
SOCAR GPC will be commissioned in Garadagh settlement, 15 km south of Baku.