BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.1
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has exported around 64,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline for the first time after several years of break, Ibrahim Ahmadov, deputy head of the public relations and events department at SOCAR told Trend.
Ahmadov noted that the jet fuel production in Azerbaijan dropped by around 20 percent in the first seven months of 2020, as compared to the same period of 2019. “During the period of COVID-19 pandemic , from March 1 through July 31, the demand for jet fuel shrank by 20 percent, while the export decreased by 40 percent.”
He noted that during the period of COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for jet fuel fell in all countries more significantly that the demand for motor fuel.
“Therefore, we reduced the jet fuel production both in Azerbaijan and in our Star refinery in Turkey, offsetting this reduction by increasing the output of AI-92 and diesel in Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
“As a result, we export more diesel this year and around 64,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline for the first time in recent years. This restructuration of production in our plants, we managed to avoid a sharp drop in production in the first half of 2020. The plants are working at full capacity. The volume of oil refining at Heydar Aliyev Refinery slightly dropped by around 4 percent in the first seven months of 2020, as compared to the same period of 2019. The slight decrease in production is not only due to the lower demand in the country, but also due to the decrease in oil output as part of the OPEC+ deal,” he said.
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