Baku Oil Refinery Plant to be modernized in 2017
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By Fatma Babayeva
SOCAR will launch construction work under the project on the modernization of Baku Oil Refinery Plant named after Heydar Aliyev in 2017, Deputy Director General of the Oil and Gas Processing Complex (OGPC) Emil Alkhasly said at the event dedicated to the state support to the industrial development on April 12.
The preparation for the front end engineering and design (FEED) project will be accomplished by the end of this year, and construction work will begin in early 2017, Alkhasly said.
He stressed that a number of facilities will be built in order to ensure production of diesel fuel meeting Euro 5 standards by July of 2019, and several facilities will be constructed for the production of gasoline meeting Euro 5 standards by May, 2020.
New asphalt plant will also be commissioned in July 2018, he added.
The project will enable Azerbaijan to meet its domestic demand for motor gasoline in the coming 15-20 years.
Once completed, the capacity of the Oil Refinery Plant will increase from 6 million to 7.5 million tons of oil a year.
In January 2015, SOCAR announced the elimination of the Azneftyag refinery and its merger with the Baku Oil Refinery named after Heydar Aliyev. This decision was made as part of works to improve and optimize the structure of the State Oil Company.
The modernization of the Baku Oil Refinery Plant will be completed by the end of 2018.
The OGPC is one of the strategically important projects realized by SOCAR. It will be constructed in about 60 kilometers away from Baku. This project will be finalized in late 2022 and early 2023.
The construction of OGPC will improve oil and gas products’ quality and enhance the export potential of the country.
Overall, the cost of the project amounts to $17.1 billion plus interests for the loan that will be received.
It is worth to mention that 5.45 million tons of oil products were produced in Azerbaijan during 2015 compared to 5.31 million tons of oil products manufactured during 2014.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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