SOCAR subsidiary SOCAR Downstream has been selected by the National Petroleum Company of the Republic of the Congo (SNPC) as the project management consultant (PMC) for the modernization of the country’s refinery.
The appointment marks the official start of the Pre-FEED stage — preliminary engineering and feasibility assessment — for the large-scale modernization of the CORAF refinery in the Republic of the Congo.
The project is aimed at further strengthening the partnership between SOCAR and SNPC, the owner of the CORAF refinery. Emil Alkhasli, Managing Director of SOCAR Downstream, noted that the cooperation goes beyond the technical aspects of the project and also contributes to strengthening relations between Azerbaijan and the Republic of the Congo.
SOCAR and SNPC signed an agreement in Baku on April 4, 2024, covering the terms for the modernization and expansion of the Congolaise de Raffinage refinery. Under the agreement, SOCAR specialists are assessing the refinery’s existing technical condition and identifying key areas where SOCAR can support SNPC in upgrading its production capabilities.
The CORAF refinery has a design processing capacity of 27,000 barrels per day, while its current actual throughput is around 20,000 barrels per day, equivalent to less than 1 million tonnes annually. More than 50% of the petroleum products produced at the facility are supplied to meet domestic demand in the Republic of the Congo.
Located in the coastal city of Pointe-Noire on the country’s Atlantic coast, the refinery began operations in December 1982 and remains the Republic of the Congo’s only oil refinery.
The Republic of the Congo has been an OPEC member since 2018, with proven oil reserves estimated at approximately 1.8 billion barrels.
Since 2023, SOCAR’s trading arm, SOCAR Trading, has been involved in marketing part of the crude oil and petroleum products produced by the CORAF refinery on international markets.
https://report.az/energetika/socar-downstream-konqodaki-yegane-nez-in-modernlesdirilmesi-uzre-qiymetlendirme-islerine-baslayir