Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR may soon expand its participation in the modernization of Egyptian energy industry.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Egypt Tural Rzayev said that Egyptian side is interested in broader participation of SOCAR in the oil industry of the country.

“For now, energy is deemed to be the main dimension of cooperation between the two countries. The worth of oil export from Azerbaijan to Egypt amounted to some $300 million in January-September 2016. The two countries intend to expand their cooperation in the sphere,” he said.

The envoy further said that the issue of bolstering cooperation was high on agenda during the meeting between SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev and Egyptian side in early November.

Within his visit to Egypt, Abdullayev held talks with Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla.

The sides discussed the expansion of cooperation between SOCAR and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC, a national oil company of Egypt), hailed the role of SOCAR in the in modernization and improvement of Egypt’s oil industry and exchanged views on the implementation of other joint projects.

The two companies, that have six-year successful energy cooperation, also signed a Memorandum of Mutual Understanding (MOU).

The agreement envisages the execution of long term oil and gas projects. Moreover, SOCAR is expected to provide nearly 2 million barrels crude oil to Egypt’s MIDOR and Nasr Petroleum refineries, according to Egypt Oil&Gas.

Additionally, the document covers the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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