SOCAR increases gas, decreases oil production in 2020

19 January 2021 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

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By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR) produced 7.4 million tons of oil and 7.3 billion cubic meters of gas in the fields in 2020, the company has reported.

As part of the OPEC+ agreement, the company has significantly reduced the volume of drilling and oil production, compared to 2019. However, gas production continues to grow, as restrictions cover only crude oil production.

During 2020, gas production in the country increased by about 4 percent to 37.1 billion cubic meters. In the meantime, oil production decreased to 34.5 million tons.

Moreover, SOCAR has exported 17.9 million tons of crude oil to foreign markets last year. It was noted that along with the volume of oil produced by SOCAR, the company also exports a share of profits from oil produced by consortia of international companies operating in Azerbaijan.

A total of 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas was consumed in the country last year. Exports of natural gas from Azerbaijan increased by 16 percent to 13.4 billion cubic meters.

In 2020, Azerbaijan’s natural gas was exported to Turkey and Georgia’s market, and on the last day of the day to the European market for the first time.

Furthermore, last year, SOCAR’s Heydar Aliyev Refinery processed 5.9 million tons of oil and gas processing plant processed 3.8 billion cubic meters of gas. Gas processing increased by more than 17 percent in comparison for a relative decline in oil refining due to lower demand for petroleum products.

Likewise, exports of refined products and petrochemicals amounted to about 2.4 million tons.

SOCAR Polymer exported 132,500 tons of polymer products, including high-density polyethylene and polypropylene, which is by 58 percent more than in 2019.

The main export markets for polymer products produced in Azerbaijan are Russia, Turkey and China. It should be noted that in 2020 SOCAR Polymer became the largest importer of polypropylene in Russia. In addition, during the year, polymer products were sold in Austria, Romania and Georgia.

Noteworthy, that 125,000 tons of oil bitumen were exported during the year, which is by 10.4 times more than in 2019. Previously, bitumen was mainly used for the domestic market needs, however, after commissioning of a new bitumen plant in 2019, which increased production, Azerbaijan resumed its exports.

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic 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. The company owns two refineries in Azerbaijan, one in Turkey, as well as networks of petrol stations in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Romania and Switzerland.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad