Baku, Azerbaijan, July 18
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is refocusing activities of its trading arm (SOCAR Trading) on LNG and its STAR refinery in Turkey, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the matter as saying.
Adding impetus is an upcoming change in shipping fuels. In 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships using fuel with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent, compared to 3.5 percent now, unless a vessel has equipment to clean up its sulphur emissions.
The industry expects demand for fuel oil to plummet as few ships have such equipment.
For traders, liquefied natural gas is the flavor of the month. As the market slowly becomes more liquid, firms are rapidly expanding their LNG divisions and investing in infrastructure.
SOCAR plans to increase its headcount in London, including with more LNG-focused hires, one of the sources said.
SOCAR Trading, headquartered in Geneva, was established in late 2007 by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.
The company sells SOCAR crude oil from Ceyhan port (Mediterranean Sea, Turkey), trades oil and oil products of other countries, and also assists the parent company in international investments. The SOCAR Trading operations cover the countries of Europe, Africa, Asia and America.
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