SOCAR starts preparations to construct bitumen rig at refinery
By Aynur Karimova
Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR has started preparations for the construction of a new bitumen rig at the Baku Oil Refinery named after Heydar Aliyev, SOCAR reported on December 8.
Earlier, SOCAR signed a contract with the German Poerner GmbH company on the construction of a new bitumen rig at the Baku Oil Refinery.
A site on the territory of the unfinished plant for the production of sulfur has been already selected for the bitumen rig. Other facilities located here have been dismantled, waste metal carried away.
The area has been cleared from of waste with the help of cranes and bulldozers, as well as earthwork has been carried out on it.
Modernization of the Baku Oil Refinery named after Heydar Aliyev will be complete by the end of 2018. The refinery processing capacity will increase from 6 to 7.5 million tons per year after reconstruction. The cost of modernization is estimated at $1 billion.
SOCAR announced about the elimination of Azneftyag refinery and merging it with the Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery in January 2015. This decision was taken as part of the work to improve and optimize SOCAR’s structure.
Azerbaijan's energy giant SOCAR, which is keen on expanding operations in the retail oil products market abroad is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in the domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.
SOCAR includes Azneft (companies producing oil and gas offshore and onshore), Azerkimya (chemical industry) and Azerigas production associations.
Three production divisions, two oil refineries and one gas processing plant, an oil tanker fleet, a deep water platform fabrication yard, two trusts, one institution, and 22 subdivisions are operating as corporate entities under SOCAR.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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