Azerbaijani Socar has shown interest in storing oil in Ukraine, but the current legislation does not allow providing such a service, Ukrtransnafta director general and head of the oil division of Naftogaz Group Mykola Havrylenko said.
“Socar, when they contacted us, said that they want to store oil for a year with the possibility of deciding where to put it: either process it or transport it by pipeline to Belarus, or again onto water with loading on tankers and sell in the free market. Our legislation does not yet allow such an opportunity,” he said.
Havrylenko recalled that the company applied to the Ministry of Finance in order to obtain permission to create a licensed customs warehouse based on its facilities for provision of oil storage services.
According to him, initially oil can be stored in the linear part of the Kremenchuk-Lysychansk oil pipeline section, where it is technically possible to place about 400,000 tonnes of oil.
“We submitted relevant initiatives to the Ministry of Finance, where, among other things, we propose recognizing the inactive section of the pipeline with certain nuances. If this is accepted, we will be able to enter the market with such capacity as this linear part of the pipeline,” the head of Ukrtransnafta said.
He also said that the tank farm at Pivdenny maritime oil terminal can currently accept 200,000 cubic meters, or 170,000 tonnes, but this is not enough even for the placement of oil from two tankers of 90,000 tonnes.
The Black Sea Trade and Development (BSTDB) and SOCAR AQS, a major drilling and well services company headquartered in Azerbaijan, have reached an agreement to partner for advancing regional cooperation in the energy sector, according to a joint press release of the bank and the company.
“BSTDB is providing a EUR 20 million Trade Finance Facility to finance imports of industrial equipment and materials from BSTDB member countries,” they said.
The loan agreement was signed at the BSTDB Headquarters in Thessaloniki.
According to the press release, the transaction will have a strong regional and developmental impact through acquisition of casings, tubular, rig, well service equipment, drill bits, power generators, and crane equipment mainly from Russia, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.
“The partnership with SOCAR AQS will generate significant economic benefits and technological advancement opportunities for many producers and suppliers in the region. We hope to develop further our partnership in the coming years,” Dmitry Pankin, BSTDB President, said, signing the loan agreement.
“The partnership with BSDTB will enable SOCAR AQS to expand our business and further integrate to supply-chain ecosystem in the region,” Ramin Isayev, General Director of SOCAR AQS, said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and President of Azerbaijan’s SOCAR state-owned oil company Rovnag Abdullayev at a meeting in Kyiv discussed prospects of expanding cooperation in the sphere of supplies of high-quality aviation fuel and the possibility of its production in Ukraine.
The press service of the head of state reported on Saturday that the SOCAR president thanked for the opportunity to take part in the session of the National Investment Council under the President of Ukraine. He said that the company “feels comfortable in Ukraine and develops rapidly.”
The parties discussed the “Turkish projects” of the company, the involvement of Ukraine in them and the prospects for further development of the oil refining complex in Ukraine.
“Next year, after the completion of strategic projects in Turkey, all attention will be paid to Ukraine. As development here is very successful,” the president of SOCAR said, adding that “in ten years in Ukraine, good conditions for business have been created just recently.”
Poroshenko pointed out the strategic nature of cooperation between the two states.
“I believe that we must take full advantage of those opportunities for the development and deepening of cooperation, including in the energy sector,” the president said. He also pointed out the importance of using this potential to diversify energy supply to Ukraine.
The parties also discussed the possibility of expanding cooperation in the supply of high-quality aviation fuel and its possible production in Ukraine given sharp increase in the air passenger traffic at Ukrainian airports, in particular, Boryspil, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa and other Ukrainian cities.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is one of the largest operators of the world fuel and energy market. The key areas of the company’s activities are: development of new deposits, oil and gas production, refining of oil products, trading and research activities.
