Planned shutdown of Baku-based oil refinery postponed

A planned 50-day shutdown of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery, the only oil refinery in Azerbaijan, has been postponed from March to April, Report informs, citing own informed sources.

Also, in parallel, for the same period, it was planned to stop the facilities of Azerkimya (Azeri chemistry) JSC, which receive raw materials from the refinery. Both are divisions of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan SOCAR.

“The shutdown of the refinery has been postponed from March 21 to the first week of April. It is planned to inspect the main installations of the plant, modernize and repair them,” the source said.

The refinery produces about 1-1.2 million tons of motor gasoline (at the end of 2021 it was 1.26 million tons, an increase of 7.9%), naphtha (in 2021 – 400,700 tons, an increase of 67.2 %, in demand at the enterprises of Azerkimya), diesel fuel (in 2021 - 2.4 million tons, an increase of 16.2%), fuel oil (105,000 tons in 2021 with an increase of 70.5%), lubricating oils (49,100 tons in 2021 with an increase of 39.1%), petroleum coke (255,300 tons, an increase of 29.7% by 2020), petroleum bitumen (in 2021 there was a decline by 3.4% to 362,200 tons) and jet fuel (in 2021 there was a decline of 2.4% to 490,100 tons).

Almost all AI-92 gasoline produced at the refinery is consumed in the domestic market.

Due to the planned shutdown of the refinery, SOCAR was instructed to organize the import of AI-92 gasoline (about 150,000 tons), and the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan temporarily (for the period February 1-June 1, 2022) zeroed out customs duty rates for gasoline imported into the republic, but most likely will extend this decision for another month, as well as the decision on excise rates (excise taxes on gasoline imported into the country with a lead content of not more than 0.013 grams per liter and an octane number of less than 95 and 92 have been reduced from 200 manats to 1 manat per ton).

The import of gasoline due to the spring repair of the refinery in 2022 is expected from Russia, Turkmenistan, and Romania.