`British companies interested in Azerbaijan`s refineries`
Baku, September 30 (AZERTAC). Azerbaijan`s planned new oil refinery and petrochemicals complex is attracting interest from British companies.
"Great Britain is interested in investing in the reconstruction of existing oil refineries or the construction of a new refinery and petrochemicals complex in Baku`s Garadag District," the UK minister of state for energy and climate change Charles Hendry told a press conference in Baku today.
Charles Hendry said that representatives of the Shaw Group, who were part of the delegation accompanying him to Baku, had discussed the issue with the Azerbaijani side, 1news.az reported.
"Great Britain is ready to provide technical and other support for oil refining projects in Azerbaijan. Of course, the projects present great opportunities for us and in future we will focus attention on investment issues," the minister of state said.
He commented that Britain was the largest investor in Azerbaijan, with more than 50% of all foreign investments coming from British companies.
"The investments are mainly made in the oil and gas sector. In future, Great Britain intends to invest in finance, the construction industry and other sectors too. BP has invested 20 billion pounds sterling [$31bn] in Azerbaijan to date and is expecting to invest another 20 billion pounds sterling in future. As a result, pipeline infrastructure will be extended and security issues concerning oil and gas production improved," Charles Hendry said.
Commenting on the projects competing to export Azerbaijani gas to Europe, the minister of state said that commercial viability should guide the final selection, APA reported.
“Political decisions must be avoided in the Nabucco project,” he said, referring to the most ambitious and most costly of the export projects. "An economically efficient decision should be taken."
He said that commercial viability and environmental safety were the main concerns of the states along the latest proposed export route (Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia).
The route, known as the South-East Europe pipeline, has been proposed by BP at the 11th hour in the selection process. All bids to export gas from the second stage of development of Azerbaijan`s giant Shah Deniz field have to be submitted to the Shah Deniz consortium by 1 October.
The new pipeline would run from western Turkey across Bulgaria and Romania to Hungary`s eastern border. BP says the route makes as much use as possible of existing pipelines and would be cheaper than the Nabucco pipeline.
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