Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR plans to commission about 160 gas filling stations in Switzerland by mid-2013, SOCAR Energy Switzerland said on Friday.

In Switzerland SOCAR sells gasoline and diesel fuel enriched with special additives that ensure optimal level of combustion, which is important from both environmental point of view and in terms of savings and productiveness of the car's combustion engine, the company says.

SOCAR is dynamically developing its operations in the Swiss market, though it has entered this market recently, commissioning its first filling station in Zurich in September.

By mid-2013 all 160 former Esso filling stations in Switzerland will operate under the SOCAR brand, marking the first entry of a foreign company to the market of filling stations in Switzerland in over 20 years.

The signing ceremony for the Change in Control procedure on the purchase of US oil giant Exxon Mobil's Esso Switzerland assets by SOCAR took place in Zurich in late June. The total cost of the assets acquired by SOCAR in Switzerland is $330 million.

SOCAR signed an agreement with Exxon Mobil in November 2011 to acquire its Swiss branch, Esso Schweiz GmbH.

SOCAR has also taken over the Wangen-Olten gas station, and a number of gas stations and joint ventures specializing in aircraft fuelling at the Geneva and Zurich airports, as well as a Swiss company that controls joint ventures managing terminals and pipelines.

In June, SOCAR Vice President Suleyman Gasimov said the company plans to purchase 172 filling stations in Switzerland.

Also, SOCAR runs filling stations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Romania. Spain has also expressed its interest in participating in SOCAR projects in Azerbaijan and abroad.

SOCAR is the only producer of oil products in the country and owns two oil refineries. It is also a co-owner of Petkim, the largest Turkish petrochemical complex, holding a majority stake in the company.

SOCAR carries out oil trade in numerous regions of the world through SOCAR Trading, its subsidiary.