Internal debt of SOCAR exceeds $1b
Internal debt of Azerbaijan’s stateowned energy company’s SOCAR hits $1.095 billion. The statement was made by company’s vice president for economic issues Suleyman Gasimov at the meeting with NGO representatives in Baku on June 28.
He noted that SOCAR's consolidated debt amounts to $6.3 billion or around 9.4 billion manats.
The vice president emphasized that the amount SOCAR needs to pay off this year is not so much. The main part of this debt is loans allocated for 5, 10 and 15 years. This debt also includes loans from the State Oil Fund which was used for the purchase of share in Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field and construction of the Baku Shipyard, and other small loans.
Also, the company received some loans from the International Bank of Azerbaijan.
Part of the loans will be covered at the expense of internal funds of SOCAR, and the remaining part by the government, said Gasimov.
The vice president emphasized that the debt of the company is controlled and managed regularly and does not create any problems to its activities.
The company finalized the previous year without any loses despite the unfavorable situation for the oil producers in the market and was able to maintain break-even-budget thanks to its assets in U.S. dollars.
Moreover, SOCAR estimated its income and expenditures at $50 per barrel on average for 2016.
The company is optimizing its business and restructuring its management systems in order to reduce costs and to achieve more effective management.
SOCAR produces oil and gas in Azerbaijan both at the expense of its own funds and together with the foreign partners.
SOCAR is fully owned by the state of Azerbaijan, largest oil producer in former Soviet Union after Russia and Kazakhstan.
The company is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, as well as, supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.
Three production divisions, one oil refinery and one gas processing plant, a deep water platform fabrication yard, two trusts, one institution, and 23 subdivisions are operating as corporate entities under SOCAR.
Currently, SOCAR owns gas stations in Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Romania, Georgia and Ukraine.
In December 2015, the company made a decision to suspend activities of all foreign offices which functions passed to the Baku office and companies, which are fully owned by SOCAR.