State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is a state-owned oil and natural gas corporation in Azerbaijan. It is responsible for the production of oil and natural gas in Azerbaijan, for operation of two oil refineries, and for running the oil and gas pipeline system. SOCAR is a party to all of the international consortia developing new oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan.

History

SOCAR was established in September 1992 with the merger of Azerbaijan's two state oil companies, Azerneft and Azneftkimiya. Azerneft was created after the bolshevik revolution by the nationalization of Azerbaijani oil industries. During Soviet period, Azerneft went through several reorganizations and re-namings.

In 1994, SOCAR signed the "Contract of the Century" related to the extraction of oil from the Caspian Sea.

Operations

SOCAR employs more than 70,000 employees. In 2005 SOCAR produced above 14 million tones of oil (150,000 bbls/d), mostly from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field. Since 1994, SOCAR has signed 25 major production sharing agreements (PSAs)

Projects

SOCAR has a 25% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and South Caucasus Pipeline. It also has stakes in the Baku-Supsa Pipeline and Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline.

Management

In January 2006, the former head of the Baku Oil Refinery and a member of the Azerbaijani parliament Rovnag Abdullayev was appointed to the post of president of SOCAR. He replaced Natig Aliyev, who had been named Azerbaijan's Minister of Industry and Energy.

External links

* [http://www.socar.gov.az/index.php?explorer=ie&action=main SOCAR company website]
* [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/azerbjan.html US Department of Energy report]