Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Azerbaijani Methanol Company's (AzMeCo) methanol plant, the first one not only in Azerbaijan but also in the South Caucasus region, has been put into operation, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AzMeCo Nizami Piriyev said at the Caspian Oil & Gas Conference on June 6.

According to him, the capacity of the plant will amount to 720,000 tons and the first production is expected within two months.

Piriyev went on to say that at present demand for methanol in Azerbaijan is insignificant. However, the company has reached an agreement with British BP for export of methanol via Black Sea port of Georgia.

In perspective, demand for methanol will increase in Azerbaijan thanks to the development of the petrochemical industry in the country.

An agreement on the sale, purchase and marketing of Azerbaijani methanol was signed in London within the framework of the first Caspian Corridor Conference organized by CityUK in cooperation with the International Bank of Azerbaijan and Asia House in November 2012.

The British BP Company received the vendor status for the entire output of the company. Investments in the construction of the plant amounted $350 million without interests pay.

AzMeCo was founded in November 2007 to invest in petrochemical projects as an owner and operator. In addition to its portfolio of international hydrocarbon investments in the Caspian basin, AzMeCo created a master plan of investment in the non oil sector of Azerbaijan. The company has constructed a methanol plant which is the only in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.