Chemicals

1080 mln USD

Volume of chemical products

134,3 thsd tons

Propylene

139,7 thsd tons

Ethylene

134,3 thsd tons

Polyethylene

156

Number of acting enterprises

Chemical industry is one of the main sectors of the Azerbaijani economy. The country’s proximity to the raw materials of oil and gas, salt, iodine-bromide mine water, and the waste of ferrous metals, combined with access to large neighbor consumers, gives Azerbaijan a comparative advantage in this sector. To meet the long-term demand in the region, and to conform to international standards, the Government recognizes that the future competitiveness of the sector requires investment to adopt high-technology techniques. It has set up rules and regulations to reach the highest standards of environmental protection. There are number of chemical enterprises in Azerbaijan which are a great help to the chemical industry.

The "Azerikimya" Production Union has been established within SOCAR. The Syndicate has an ethylene-polyethylene plant and a repair and construction division. The Syndicate's plants have the following capacities: ethylene-polyethylene plant - 260,000 tons of ethylene per year, 136,000 tons of propylene per year, 120,000 tons of polypropylene per year, 25,000 tons of industrial isopropyl alcohol per year, and 24400 tons of absolute isopropyl alcohol per year, 1,750 tons of absolute di-isopropyl alcohol per year, and 480 tons of steam per hour and 32 MW of electric power per hour.

The Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery has processed more than 300,000,000 tons of oil, added new facilities, applied state of the art technologies, and produced different kinds of petroleum products. At present, the refinery is processing 21 out of 24 grades of Azerbaijanian crude and 15 different petroleum products, including automotive gasoline, aviation kerosene, diesel fuel, black oil, petroleum coke, and others. The plant is meeting the republic’s entire demand for petroleum products completely. 45% of its petroleum products are exported.

Azerbaijan is also aimed investing in petrochemical plants at home and abroad as it chases the bigger margins from turning crude oil into plastics rather than oil products in order to further diversify its economy. The country produces methanol and other petrochemicals and also planned to begin construction of a new petrochemicals plant in Turkey to produce various materials. Plans to construct a second carbamide plant in Azerbaijan with Tekfen also boost the South Caucasus country’s potential as a petrochemical’s exporter.