Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR extracted 1.7 million tons of oil and 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas in the third quarter from fields it operates or in which it holds a major stake. Drilling volumes also jumped 74.3% year-on-year, topping 21,000 meters.
According to SOCAR, the company shipped around 4 million tons of oil to foreign markets in the third quarter. The figure includes both oil extracted directly by SOCAR and the state’s and SOCAR’s share of revenue from oil produced by foreign consortiums operating in Azerbaijan.
Natural gas exports from the country exceeded 5.7 billion cubic meters, while domestic consumption stood at roughly 2.3 billion cubic meters.
Over the same period, SOCAR refined more than 1.6 million tons of oil and close to 632 million cubic meters of gas. Its plants in Azerbaijan sold 657,400 tons of oil, petrochemical and gas-chemical products abroad, a 2.8% rise in such exports.
Drilling volumes climb sharply
Total drilling volume in the third quarter surpassed 21,000 meters, up 74.3% compared with the same period last year. SOCAR attributed the increase to an expansion of its production plans.
