Azerbaijan has shown keen interest in investing in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector of Pakistan through State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). In 2017 Pakistan and Azerbijan had entered into an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) for supply of a number of oil and gas products, including furnace oil, petrol, diesel and LNG. Both the countries are now expected to sign a commercial agreement in February during the scheduled visit of Azerbaijan foreign minister to Islamabad.
Azerbaijani Ambassador Ali Alizada met Federal Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan at Petroleum Division and urged him to expedite the process of approval for the agreement. The agreement needs to be ratified by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the federal cabinet before it can be formally signed by the two sides.
SOCAR’s activities include exploration of oil and gas, production, processing and transportation of oil, natural gas and gas condensate as well as marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets.
The company operates a wide network of petrol stations in Ukraine, Romania, Georgia, Switzerland and Azerbaijan under its brand name. Azerbaijan’s daily production of crude oil is approximately 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) and its annual gas production is approximately 29.4 billion cubic feet. This makes SOCAR a predominant player in its core region as well as an invaluable trade partner in the global market.
