Baku, Azerbaijan, March 9
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR will in coming months announce a tender to relocate the ELOU-AVT-2 preliminary processing unit from the “Azerneftyag” production site to the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery’s area, Ibrahim Ahmadov, SOCAR Public Relations Officer, told Trend.
“In order to raise the refinery’s annual capacity from 6 to 8 million tons, it is necessary to relocate the ELOU-AVT-2 preliminary processing unit from the “Azerneftyag” production site to the refinery’s area,” he said.
Since this relocation is a large and complex technical project, a feasibility study was conducted and the plant’s relocation will be put out to tender in the next few months, noted Ahmadov.
SOCAR announced the liquidation of Azneftyag oil refinery and its merger with the Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery in 2015. This decision was made as part of the work to improve and optimize SOCAR's structure.
Demolition of the Azneftyag refinery will start after the relocation of ELOU-AVT-2 preliminary processing unit.
Currently, modernization of the Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery is underway and will be completed in 2021. After modernization, the operational period of the refinery will be extended to 2040.
ELOU-AVT unit at Baku Refinery was built in 1976.
The cost of Baku Refinery’s modernization will near $1.5-$1.7 billion, according to the preliminary estimations.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn