Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan’s state energy major SOCAR will strengthen security measures on its oil and gas platforms, said Elshad Nasirov, the SOCAR Vice President.

Nasirov, talking to German media on February 6, said that majority of offshore platforms has already been overhauled, while oil-workers are being constantly trained on security measures and prevention of accidents.

Over the past two years, two fatal accidents occurred on SOCAR platforms due to bad weather conditions. Nasirov said that the reason for such accidents is obsolete infrastructure.

The company is not able to renew its infrastructure completely, the official said, however mentioning that a big number of platforms have already been renewed.

The maintenance work is mainly carried out by 28 May Oil and Gas Extraction Department of SOCAR Azneft Production Union.

Talking about future plans of the company, Nasirov said that SOCAR plans to expand its production areas and expand its presence abroad.

The company is currently engaged in the implementation of the ambitious Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages transportation of 10 bcm of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to Europe via Georgia and Turkey, he said, adding that SOCAR have no intention to be a rival for the Russian Gazprom.

“We just want to meet current and future energy needs of Turkey and Europe,” he said.

SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.

Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a large scale-project aimed at improving the security and diversity of the EU’s energy supply.

Stretching over the area of 3,500 km, crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, the project comprises several separate energy projects, including TANAP, South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans Adriatic Pipeline, and Shah Deniz 2 development.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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