Since 2008, SOCAR Türkiye (subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic, one of the world’s largest oil and natural gas companies) has emerged as a leading energy venture working with the most advanced technologies to provide social, economic and environmental benefits for a sustainable life in the West Asian country.
As Türkiye’s largest integrated industrial group, SOCAR Türkiye has expanded its operations in sectors like petrochemicals, refining, natural gas, trade, transmission and distribution, while continuously increasing its production capacity with our value chain extending from the source to the end user.
One such success story has been SOCAR Energy Trade, which has become the largest private sector natural gas wholesale portfolio in Türkiye, while carrying out SOCAR Türkiye’s natural gas and electricity, trade and sales activities since 2009.
International Finance recently caught up with Fuad Ibrahimov, SOCAR Türkiye, Head of Gas Business Unit, who shared his views about SOCAR Energy Trade, its import and export operations, and much more.
Can you briefly tell us about the electricity and natural gas trade operations of SOCAR Energy Trade?
SOCAR Türkiye contributes to country’s supply security by supplying up to 1.7 billion cubic metres of gas annually under the memorandum of understanding signed by the Ministries of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkiye.
Accordingly, at SOCAR Energy Trade, we are a key link in the supply chain of the entire group. We make sure the Azerbaijani gas is used in our own petrochemical and refinery facilities in Turkiye. However, what I consider a key factor in our winning this award is our business model which goes beyond merely meeting the gas and electricity needs of our group companies.
Today, we stand as one of the prominent private sector players in Turkiye in the wholesale markets for both electricity and gas. For years, we have been providing gas and electricity to the B2B customers in our portfolio.
Our end-user portfolio volume for electricity rose to 300 MW while the electricity sales and trading volume stood at 750 MW. In 2023, our total trading and sales volume for gas and electricity hit the 21-terawatt mark.
Can you provide information on SOCAR Energy Trade’s import and export operations?
SOCAR Türkiye actively employs import and export channels to maximise the benefits of group companies and create added value. In addition to long-term contracts, SOCAR Türkiye procures natural gas from Azerbaijan through spot imports. SOCAR Türkiye is the only private sector player bringing in gas to our country from an alternative source. Furthermore, we have engaged in cross-border electricity trade operations with Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece since 2023.
What are the future plans of SOCAR Energy Trade?
SETAS continues to act as a one-stop shop for the energy needs of its customers in Turkiye, offering a sustainable energy supply as well as its energy expertise to become their solution partner in energy. I believe our trade company won this award for its competence in providing its customers with a one-stop shop for energy. Our operations are not solely limited to gas and electricity supply. We act as a solution partner for all needs of our energy-related customers. We aim to update our solutions through continuous development in line with global energy trends.
In addition, at SOCAR Energy Trade, we focus on operations to enhance the value of not only the Turkish supply chain but also the global supply chain. We are planning new strategic steps to increase the added value of our integrated value chain in gas. With the addition of the electricity generation link to our gas value chain and the subsequent trade and cross-border activities, our value chain will be further enriched.
What are the action steps SOCAR Energy Trade takes in terms of sustainability and green energy?
We have renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) in our own supply portfolio. Moreover, we support our customers in terms of sustainability. To reduce the carbon footprints of end users and make them carbon neutral, we have been selling renewably sourced and I-REC (International Renewable Energy Certificate) certified green energy since 2021. In 2023, SETAS procured green energy to 21% of its end-user portfolio. This year, we intend to ensure that green energy sales make up 25% of our third part portfolio as a minimum.