SOCAR Energy Georgia, SOCAR’s first subsidiary abroad, was established in 2006 for the purposes of the import, wholesale and retail of oil and gas products to the Georgian market, as well as distribution of natural gas. The company is one of the largest investors and taxpayers in the country.
Activity
Besides wholesale and retail activities, SOCAR Energy Georgia’s responsibilities also include the construction and operation of petrol stations, supply and transport from oil product terminals, and import operations. In an effort to carry out these operations, subsidiaries such as SOCAR Georgia Gas, SOCAR Georgia Petroleum and SOCAR Georgia Security, which are fully owned by SOCAR Energy Georgia, were established. SOCAR Georgia Petroleum was incorporated in 2006 for the purpose of the construction and operation of petrol stations. By the end of 2010, the number of SOCAR-operated fuel stations in Azerbaijan reached 60. As of the 1st of January 2022, 110 petrol stations have been operating in Georgia under the SOCAR brand. SOCAR Georgia Petroleum has 13 service centres and 4 oil product terminals. The petrol stations sell liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), diesel fuel and high-quality petrol of various octanes. The diesel and petrol sold at the petrol stations owned by the company are supplied from European countries and fully comply with the requirements of EURO-5 standards. In these stations customers can use the Way Mart market chain, Energy Card bonus cards, various facilities and profitable modern sales methods, mobile phones or other services. Owners of electric cars benefit from recharging devices that provide their cars with electricity.
SOCAR Georgia Gas, another subsidiary company, was established in 2007 for the purpose of the import, retail and wholesale and distribution of natural gas in the country, as well as the construction and renewal of gas pipelines. The level of gasification in Georgia was 46% in 2008; however, thanks to the joint activities of SOCAR Georgia Gas and the Georgian Government, it is expected to reach 90% by the end of 2024. As a result, the number of subscribers increased from 71,000 in 2009 to 806,000 as of the 1st of January 2022. During 2007-2022, the company built up to 12,000 km of gas distribution lines.
Social projects
SOCAR Energy Georgia also implements large projects in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). For more than 10 years, the company has been providing financial support to the Katarzis public fund, which supports homeless people, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company participated in activities organised with the participation of the country’s Office of the Minister of State for Reconciliation and Civil Equality. As part of these aid actions, the company provided assistance with the basic needs and food products to more than 7,000 families with low social security in need of assistance throughout Georgia.
Within the framework of the 1 + 4 project implemented since 2008, the tuition fees of our compatriots studying in the country’s state universities are paid by SOCAR Energy Georgia. In 2008-2022, 4,300 students received financial support from the company. In addition, SOCAR Energy Georgia awarded scholarships to 120 Azerbaijani students with excellent grades, studying in 2013-2017. The scholarship programme of the Azerbaijani Cultural Centre in Marneuli for Azerbaijani students was annually funded by the company for 4 years. Since its establishment, the company has built new highways in several villages in Georgia, provided reconstruction of roads in others, and carried out major repairs of schools, hospitals and sports fields in many villages and towns. In order to help the agricultural sector of the country, in 2016-2017, the company donated 18 Belarus tractors to the Kvemo-Kartli region. Within the framework of these relief actions, hundreds of people suffering from kidney failure were also supported and provided with appropriate medicines. The company donated a car and 110 wheelchairs to the Azerbaijani Society of the Disabled.
In 2021, the construction of a 120-place modern kindergarten in Kabal village in Lagodekhi municipality, as well as the construction of an international standard sports complex in Gyzylhajyly village in Marneuli municipality was completed. In addition to these, in general, the company has carried out hundreds of social and humanitarian projects in Georgia, including education, health care, science, and sports.
During 2007-2022, the company purchased SOCAR’s administrative office buildings in Tbilisi and Batumi, recreation parks named after H. Aliyev in Tbilisi and Rustavi, M.F. Akhundov’s house museum in Tbilisi and put them into use, including the Tea House in Marneuli. The company has made significant investments in Georgia’s economy, including major construction projects, such as the purchase and commissioning of the Youth Centre and the purchase and overhaul of the Nariman Narimanov House Museum in Tbilisi.
The Black Sea Terminal
The Kulevi Oil Terminal is an oil and oil products transshipment terminal, which has been operating since May 2008. Oil products transported by rail and ship are unloaded here, stored in reservoirs, and then loaded onto ships and transported westward. The terminal has the capacity to load and unload 10MM tons of oil and oil products per year. The total storage capacity of the terminal is 402,000 m³. By the 1st of June 2022, 30MM tons of oil and petrochemical products were shipped from the Kulevi oil terminal to the world markets.