Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR commissioned its first filling station in Zurich on Tuesday.

By mid-2013 all 160 former Esso filling stations in Switzerland will operate under the SOCAR brand, marking the first entry of a foreign company to the market of filling stations in Switzerland in over 20 years, SOCAR Energy Switzerland's website reported on Wednesday.

The signing ceremony for the Change in Control procedure on the purchase of US oil giant Exxon Mobil's Esso Switzerland assets by SOCAR took place in Zurich in late June. The total cost of the assets acquired by SOCAR in Switzerland is $330 million.

SOCAR signed an agreement with Exxon Mobil in November 2011 to acquire its Swiss branch, Esso Schweiz GmbH. The company will operate under the Esso brand within 12 months after the owner is changed.

SOCAR has also taken over the Wangen-Olten gas station, and a number of gas stations and joint ventures specializing in aircraft fuelling at the Geneva and Zurich airports, as well as a Swiss company that controls joint ventures managing terminals and pipelines.

In June, SOCAR Vice-President Suleyman Gasimov said the company plans to purchase 172 filling stations in Switzerland.

Also, SOCAR runs filling stations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Romania.

The number of SOCAR gas stations in Georgia reached 96 in May and will be further increased to 125, SOCAR said.

SOCAR will be given full support to implement its projects in Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Maiko said earlier.

32 SOCAR gas stations are presently open in Odessa, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Kyiv, and Cherkasy provinces of Ukraine.

By the beginning of 2013, the number of filling stations under SOCAR brand in Ukraine will be increased to 100, head of SOCAR in Ukraine Elchin Mammadov said in July.

In Romania, 13 filling stations fully complying with European standards have been opened so far.

SOCAR also intends to open about 300 filling stations in Romania over three years.

Meanwhile, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Gonzalo de Benito expressed the country's interest in participating in SOCAR projects in Azerbaijan and abroad.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said Azerbaijan has established a broad legal framework to promote and protect foreign investment and has extensive experience. SOCAR is ready to cooperate with major foreign companies, taking into account national interests and the principles of economic efficiency, he said.

Abdullayev said the proposals of Spanish companies seeking to participate in SOCAR projects will be considered.

SOCAR is the only producer of oil products in the country and owns two oil refineries. SOCAR is also a co-owner of the largest Turkish petrochemical complex Petkim. The company carries out oil trade in numerous regions of the world through SOCAR Trading, its subsidiary.