Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 30
By Sara Israfilbayova – Trend:
Starting from Oct. 1, the Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery will be stopped for scheduled overhaul, a source in Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR told Trend.
At the same time, repair will start at the enterprises of the Azerikimya Production Association (PA), which are supplied with raw materials from the refinery.
The need for gasoline will be met through its imports, while the demand in diesel fuel will be met through the ELOU-AVT installation operating at the second plant Azneftyag. Despite the decision to close Azneftyag, some of the old installations at the plant are in working condition.
This is an annual scheduled stop, and it will no longer be necessary after the completion of a general overhaul and modernization.
SOCAR is modernizing its only refinery in the country. After the reconstruction, which will last until 2021, the plant’s capacity should increase to 7.5 million tons per year from the current six million tons.
The process of modernizing the refinery, in addition to the construction of a primary oil refining unit, envisages construction of two units for the production of high-quality diesel fuel and gasoline that meets Euro 5 standard.
After the completion of the modernization, the plant should increase gasoline production to 2.2 million tons from the current 1.2 million tons, diesel fuel to 2.9 million tons from 1.9 million tons, jet fuel to one million tons from 600,000 tons, and petrochemical products to 390,000 tons from 112,000 tons.
($1 = 1.7 AZN on Aug. 30)
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