SOCAR, Maire Technimont Group ink 2 agreements

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Maire Technimont Group have signed two Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for new generation refining units, Report informs, referring to SOCAR's website.

SOCAR subsidiary Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery has inked the contracts with Tecnimont S.p.A. and KT-Kinetics Technology S.p.A., the subsidiaries of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., as part of the Modernization and Reconstruction of SOCAR Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery in Baku.

The overall value of the contracts is nearly $160 million.

SOCAR’s President Rovnag Abdullayev, Italian Ambassador in Azerbaijan Augusto Massari, Maire Tecnimont Chairman Fabrizio Di Amato, and Maire Tecnimont Group CEO Pierroberto Folgiero, along with other SOCAR’s and Maire Tecnimont’s senior officials have attended the signing ceremony.

The scope of the first contract entails the installation of an FCC gasoline hydrotreating unit. In contrast, the other contract refers to installing an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) mercaptan oxidation unit and an amine treatment and LPG pretreatment unit. These units are crucial to upgrade the quality of gasoline to the EURO-5 standard.

Both projects will be executed in the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery, where Tecnimont and KT-Kinetics Technology are already jointly executing an EPC contract awarded in 2018 by winning the tender at that time for other new units.

The projects under new EPC contracts are expected to be completed within 33 months and 26 months from the signing date.

"SOCAR’s Heydar Aliyev refinery, being the only oil refining complex in the South Caucasus region, plays an important economic role. It’s the only regional fuel supplier as well as a feedstock provider to SOCAR’s petrochemical units," Rovnag Abdullayev, the president of SOCAR, said.

"The modernization of the refinery will significantly improve the quality of produced diesel and gasoline, upgrading them to comply with EURO-5 standards. On the other hand, it will supply the petrochemical industry of Azerbaijan with sustainable and cost-efficient feedstock. While modernization is an inevitable business standpoint, it will also reduce the environmental footprint and increase our cities’ quality of life. To accomplish these strategic goals, we are pleased to cooperate with the famous Maire Tecnimont Group, the company representing the creative and competent spirit of Italy, our friendly country," he added.