SOCAR Trading, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), has won a tender to purchase Turkmen oil produced by Eni Turkmenistan, Report says, citing Argus media.
Thus, SOCAR Trading has returned to its portfolio some of the oil purchased by Vitol in Turkmenistan since 2017.
As a result of this tender, SOCAR Trading has surpassed the oil market giants such as ENOC, Vitol, Rosneft, Lukoil, and Trafigura.
Market participants believe that this may increase Turkmen crude supply via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline by reducing transit through Makhachkala and Novorossiysk.
Deputy Vice President of SOCAR Adnan Ahmadzade confirmed the deal in a statement to Report.
According to the information provided, Turkmenistan plans to send 30,000-40,000 tons of Okarem oil per month in 2021.
In January-November, exports of Okarem oil from Turkmenistan increased to 341,000 tons. This figure amounted to 310,000 tons in the same period last year.
The entire volume is transported by tankers in the direction of Makhachkala to Novorossiysk via the Transneft system.