SOCAR might start dismantling Azerneftyag Oil Refinery in June
BAKU. Feb 14 (Interfax) - State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) plans to start dismantling the Azerneftyag Oil Refinery in June 2012, a source at the company told Interfax.
"Preparations for this process have already started. Work will start up directly in June 2012, after the government makes the necessary decision. Since Baku is vying for organizing the 2020 Olympic Summer Games, the decommission of the Azerneftyag Oil Refinery should take place and 150 hectares for the construction of the new Olympics complex should open up," the source said.
The source said that the refinery's main units for producing bitumen, lubricants, and heating fuel should be moved to the Aliyev Oil Refinery in Baku. The remaining production facilities will be dismantled.
"Since oil refining operations in the center of the city cause serious harm to the capital's environment, they will be moved to the city boundaries. Therefore, the Geidar Aliyev Oil Refinery in Baku will function until the Garadag Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex is commissioned," the source said.
During the 1930, using smaller oil refineries and processing plants as a base, the Stalin Oil Refinery was created. The enterprise was renamed 22nd Party Congress Refinery in 1967 and then, in 1987, Azerneftyag in 1981. The production unit Azerneftyag was formed at the plant in 1994. The enterprise has operated at Azerneftyag Oil Refinery since March 2003.
The Azerneftyag Oil Refinery specializes in the production of lubricants and other heavy petroleum items (such as kerosene, naphtha, heating fuel and others). The plant's capacity comes to 14 million tonnes a year.
