Azernews.Az

By Fatma Babayeva

Azerbaijan’s state energy giant SOCAR will commission more gas stations in Baku by late 2016, SOCAR Vice President David Mammadov said at the event devoted to the state support to the industry development on April 12.

Currently, two gas stations of SOCAR brand function in Baku, and three more will be opened in the capital city, Mammadov said.

SOCAR, which is keen on expanding operations in the retail oil products market of the country and abroad, has 16 gas stations in the country and other three are leased. SOCAR also enjoys a network of filling stations in Switzerland, Georgia, Ukraine and Romania.

David Mammadov further said that buses of the BakuBus company currently use compressed natural gas (CNG) produced by SOCAR.

Compressed natural gas is used as a fuel instead of gasoline, diesel and propane. It is cheaper than conventional fuel. CNG produces less greenhouse gases while burning smaller compared to conventional fuels. Thus, it is friendlier to the environment.

CNG is produced by compressing natural gas at compressor plants. This type of gas is stored in a special storages under 200-220 atmospheric pressure.

Annual domestic demand for gasoline amounts to 1.4 million tons in Azerbaijan, and domestic production meets the demand for gasoline within the country.

Oil and oil products consumption in Azerbaijan stood at 101, 000 barrels per day during 2013-2014, according to BP statistical review of World Energy 2015. SOCAR is the sole producer of oil products in Azerbaijan.

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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva

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