Central Bank loan to be attracted for creation of new petrochemical complex in Azerbaijan

SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) intends to attract a loan from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) within the framework of the project to create a new oil and gas processing petrochemical complex (OGPC) in Azerbaijan, President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters March 19.

He made the remarks during the opening of a new office building of “Neftgaztikinti” trust.

He said that SOCAR intends to attract a loan of about 1 billion manat (AZN).

The official exchange rate for March 19 is 1, 0486 AZN / USD.

“The loan will be attracted for implementation of the first phase of the OGPC project,” said Abdullayev. “We intend to attract about 1 billion manat for 10 years with an option to extend the loan repayment period for five years.”

The total cost of the first phase of the OGPC project is estimated at $7 billion (including interest on loans - $8.45 billion). It is planned to implement some 30 percent of the project with the equity, and the remaining part of the work will be carried out using borrowed capital. The payback period of the project will last four to five years.

The OGPC will be located 60 kilometers from Baku and will consist of three processing enterprises and a thermal power plant (TPP).

The OGPC construction project implementation will improve the product quality, enhance the export potential of the country and help protect the environment of the capital.

The annual capacity of the refinery as part of OGPC will be 8.5-9 million metric tons; the gas processing plant will be 12 billion cubic meters, petrochemical production will exceed 1 million metric tons (the power of the plant for the production of polyethylene will be 800,000 metric tons, rigs for polypropylene production – 300,000 metric tons).

Implementation of the project will be completed around late 2022 - early 2023.

/By Trend/