SOCAR launches first petrol station in Austria
By Leman Mammadova
Actively involved in retail sales of high-quality oil products in Switzerland, SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) starts retail sale in neighboring Austria to meet the needs of local customers.
SOCAR opened the first petrol station in the Austrian city of Graz, Eggenberg district, under its own brand.
The petrol station existing there has been completely refurbished, and now drivers can refuel with high-quality fuel from SOCAR.
According to the information provided by SOCAR Energy Holdings, SOCAR subsidiary in Switzerland, the next gas station under the SOCAR brand will also be put into operation in Graz in late July.
Rebranding of all 82 A1 company gas stations in Austria transferred to SOCAR will be implemented gradually over several years.
Edgar Bachmann, head of SOCAR Energy Holdings, said that the opening of the first gas station in Austria is a new stage for SOCAR.
“SOCAR has become one of the leading energy companies in Switzerland since entering the market of this country in 2012. We want to use this experience in Austria,” he said.
In late 2017, SOCAR Energy Holding acquired A1 company’s gas stations in Austria and Pronto Oil company engaged in the sale of petroleum oils. A1 owned 82 petrol stations in Austria. Over the next few years, the A1 logo will be gradually replaced by the SOCAR brand.
SOCAR has established a new company, SOCAR Energy Austria LLC, to manage these two companies.
As one of the world's 50 largest oil companies, SOCAR has a significant position in a number of regional and international energy projects.
Three production divisions - Azneft (enterprises producing oil and gas onshore and offshore), Azerikimya (chemical enterprises) and Azerigas (distributor of gas produced in the country), - one oil refinery and one gas processing plant, a deep water platform fabrication yard, two trusts, one institution, and 23 subdivisions are operating as corporate entities under SOCAR.
Currently, SOCAR is the only producer of oil products in Azerbaijan and also operates more than 370 filling stations in Switzerland, Georgia, Romania and Ukraine.
Last year, the total revenues of SOCAR amounted to 111.2 billion manats ($65.4 billion) with an increase of 20.1 percent compared to 2017. The total assets of SOCAR amounted to 62.1 billion manats ($36.5 billion) last year, and the total debt obligations - to 13.7 billion manats ($8 billion).
SOCAR's total capital increased compared to the previous year and reached 24 billion manats ($14.1 billion). SOCAR’s total revenues have increased 24 times over the past 10 years, and total capital - more than three times.
As for the operations in Switzerland in 2018, the revenues of SOCAR amounted to 94.5 billion manats ($55.6 billion), which is 20.2 percent more than in 2017. According to the report, 84.9 percent of the company's total revenues last year accounted for revenues from operations in Switzerland. In the country, SOCAR operates in the retail trade of petroleum products, running a network of petrol stations under the SOCAR brand.
In 2018, the revenues of SOCAR from operations in Azerbaijan amounted to 6.6 billion manats (23.1 percent up), in Turkey – 4.9 billion manats (0.9 percent up), in the United Arab Emirates – 2.3 billion manats (77.6 percent up), in Georgia – 1.1 billion manats (5.2 percent down), and in other countries – 1.6 billion manats (44.5 percent up).
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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888
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