SOCAR achieved growth in drilling and production in the third quarter of 2021. The company conducted more than 20,000 meters of drilling, which is 82% more than the same period last year.

Oil and gas production of SOCAR amounted to 2 million tons and 2 billion cubic metres, respectively. Thus, the Company achieved 10%-growth in oil production and 9% - in gas production compared to the same period last year. The comprehensive action plan to maintain stable production levels in the oil and gas fields operated by the company has been consistently implemented.

In Q3 2021, oil and gas output of the country totalled to 8.7 million tons and more than 11.3 billion cubic metres, respectively. This means a 6% increase in oil production and a 38.6% increase in gas production compared to the same period last year. The increase in oil output was mainly due to the gradual easing of production cuts under the OPEC+ deal.

SOCAR’s export performance for the third quarter was also satisfactory. The Company exported 4.5 million tons of oil, which is 22% higher than the same period last year. That includes both the crude sales of SOCAR and the crude, exported on behalf of the state of Azerbaijan. The country's natural gas exports increased by 48% to 4.4 billion cubic metres. During the reporting period, 2.4 billion cubic metres of gas was consumed in the country, which is 8% more than the same period last year.

In July-September 2021, SOCAR refined 1.8 million tons of oil, which is 46.5% more than in the same period last year. This sharp increase is related to the periodic maintenance carried out at the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery in the third quarter of last year. However, the plant did not stop its operations for periodic maintenance in Q3 this year. During the quarter, SOCAR's Gas Processing Plant processed 812 million cubic metres of gas.

The export volume of oil and gas refining and petrochemical products exported by the company increased significantly in the third quarter. SOCAR exported 1.1 million tons of petrochemical and refined petroleum products, an 88% increase compared to the same period last year. Of course, the above-mentioned reason played an important role in production increase at the refinery. At the same time, exports of chemical products such as high-pressure polyethylene, absolute isopropyl alcohol and carbamide showed a significant growth.

KeyFacts Energy: SOCAR Azerbaijan country profile