Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of the High Density Polyethylene Plant of the SOCAR Polymer project in Sumgayit, the presidential press service reported.
Ilham Aliyev was informed of the plant’s activities. After which the president launched the enterprise.
The head of state then met with the plant staff.
Head of the 'Caspian Barrel' Center for Oil Research Ilham Shaban told Vestnik Kavkaza that the opening of the new plant is a significant event for Azerbaijan. "Starting from 2018, SOCAR launches processing enterprises one by one. First, there was SOCAR Polymer's first plant, then SOCAR Karbamid and SOCAR Polymer's second plant. Currently, the 'Azerkhimiya' is being modernized. As a result, SOCAR became the top Azerbaijani enterprise in terms of non-oil exports in 2018. If in 2017 SOCAR enterprises exported $168 million of non-oil products, then last year - $271 million. I think that exports from these plants will exceed $400 million, and in total these enterprises will bring about $750-800 million to Azerbaijan," the expert expects.
"If in the period 1990-2010 we saw that Azerbaijan mainly exports raw materials, then part of oil revenues were directed to the development of the processing industry. Thus, the targets of export diversification and the gradual transition from oil refining to gas refining were met. SOCAR Methanol runs on natural gas. Last Friday, the President of Azerbaijan signed a new order to build a petrochemical complex using natural gas in the amount of 10 billion cubic meters as feedstock. Thus, the current century can already be called the gas century for Azerbaijan, and it concerns not only gas export, but also its processing to increase the added value several times. 70% of SOCAR Polymer’s new plant will be exported," Ilham Shaban said.
