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Akbar Novruz

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The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has transformed its carbamide plant through large-scale digitalization and the application of artificial intelligence (AI), earning the facility recognition as a Digital Lighthouse of the World Economic Forum (WEF), AzerNEWS reports.

According to a report by international consulting company McKinsey, the modernization of the enterprise represents a key element of SOCAR’s strategy through 2035, aimed at strengthening the company’s competitiveness, expanding the non-oil sector and integrating advanced technologies into industrial processes.

The SOCAR Carbamide plant, Azerbaijan’s only facility producing ammonia and urea, was selected as a platform for the digital transformation project. The initiative, launched jointly by SOCAR and McKinsey in 2023, was designed as a two-and-a-half-year program to improve operational efficiency and production capacity.

SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf said the company’s approach went beyond introducing individual technologies, instead creating a new operating model where data, artificial intelligence and employees function as a unified ecosystem.

“We have not just implemented new technologies, but formed a new operating model in which data, artificial intelligence and people operate as a single ecosystem,” Najaf said.

As part of the transformation program, 42 digital solutions and AI-based tools were developed. SOCAR Chief Technology Officer Murad Abdullayev said the company not only adopted international best practices but also created its own technologies tailored to the specific needs of the plant.

According to McKinsey, the digital solutions delivered significant improvements:

• natural gas efficiency increased by 24%;
• production volumes rose by 21%;
• unplanned maintenance was reduced by 66% through predictive diagnostics and AI-supported engineering solutions.

A major focus of the project was employee training. SOCAR established the SOCAR Digital Academy to provide workers with digital skills and experience in using analytical tools and AI-based systems.

During the implementation period, around 70% of plant employees acquired new digital competencies, while workers proposed more than 40 AI-related initiatives for production processes.

SOCAR also created the Caspian AI Institute, a regional center focused on developing industrial artificial intelligence solutions. The institute currently brings together more than 60 specialists, has developed over 30 AI products and obtained 15 patents.

In January 2026, the World Economic Forum included the SOCAR Carbamide plant in its global Digital Lighthouse network, making it the first enterprise in Azerbaijan and Central Asia to receive the designation and the first urea production facility worldwide to achieve the status.

SOCAR Vice President for Refining and Petrochemicals Anar Mammadov said digital transformation had helped the company move from achieving strong production indicators toward global industrial leadership.

McKinsey noted that the Digital Lighthouse status is awarded not simply to companies implementing existing digital technologies, but to enterprises capable of developing, scaling and successfully applying their own innovations.

Currently, around 90% of products manufactured at the SOCAR Carbamide plant are exported to regional markets. The facility fully satisfies Azerbaijan’s domestic demand for nitrogen fertilizers while contributing to the growth of the country’s non-oil exports.

According to McKinsey, the recognition demonstrates that Azerbaijan can develop advanced industrial AI capabilities based on local expertise, effective management and domestic innovation potential.