BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
Three new installations required for the production of Euro-5 gasoline are planned to be installed at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery within the signed agreements in Azerbaijan, Trend reports citing the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan SOCAR.
SOCAR’s Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery signed two design, procurement, and construction agreements with Tecnimont S.p.A. and KT-Kinetics Technology S.p.A., subsidiaries of the Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. group, as part of a refinery modernization and reconstruction project.
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev, Italian Extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to Azerbaijan Augusto Massari, Chairman of the Board and Major Shareholder of Maire Tecnimont Group Fabrizio Di Amato, Director General of Maire Tecnimont Group Pierroberto Folgiero, and other top executives of the companies attended the signing ceremony.
The agreements envisage the installation of a gasoline fraction hydrotreating facility from a catalytic cracking unit and a unit for the oxidation of mercaptan in liquefied petroleum gas (liquefied gas), an amine purification unit, and primary processing of liquefied petroleum gas, which is of great importance for improving the quality of gasoline produced at the Heydar Aliyev Refinery according to the Euro 5 standard.
Tecnimont and KT-Kinetics Technology, which were named as the winners of the tender for other installations, are already working together on a project to modernize this plant in accordance with an agreement signed in 2018.
The work related to the new agreements totaling approximately $160 million is expected to be completed within 33 months and 26 months, respectively.
This is an important stage in the main sphere of activity of Maire Tecnimont Group as the agreements allow strengthening the group's position in the Azerbaijani market and in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, this confirms the group's efforts to strengthen its unique capabilities, technological expertise, and synergy between EPC contractors.
"SOCAR’s Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery plays a big role as the only oil refining complex in the South Caucasus region,” SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said.
“The refinery supplies fuel to the region and provides SOCAR's petrochemical enterprises with raw materials,” Abdullayev said. “Reconstruction of the refinery will greatly improve the quality of diesel fuel and gasoline, bring them in line with the Euro-5 standard, as well as create a stable and efficient raw material base for the Azerbaijani petrochemical industry. The renovation work is important from economic and environmental points of view, as well as to improve the quality of life in our cities.”
"This agreement will allow us to expand our mutually beneficial relationship and pave the way for further development that will confirm the robustness of our technology-based strategy," Maire Tecnimont CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said.
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