Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend I.Khalilova / The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has prepared a program to increase gas production to resolve the problem in supplying fuel to Azerbaijan, SOCAR's Vice President on Refinery, Davud Mammadov, said on 5 June.
According to him, they are planning to produce nearly 8 bln cu.m of gas is in the country in 2008.
"According to assessments, under such volume of gas production, there will be enough to refine nearly 6-6.5 mln tons of oil and it will be possible to export the remaining part," Mammadov considers.
A small quantity of mazut production is necessary to ensure the demand in the agricultural sphere. Strategic mazut reserves in the spring-summer period are produced to collect resources - gas into underground gasholders and mazut to ensure electricity demand during the autumn-winter period. Almost 8 mln tons of oil products were expected to be refined in Baku refineries this year, but according to Mammadov, it will be less than 7.7 - 7.8 mln tons which will be used not only to ensure the demand of the country, but also to export.