SOCAR has 'infinite' client base

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 9 (UPI) -- The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic is a diverse supplier as its trading offices establish relations with various partners, officials say.

Russia, China, Iran and U.S. allies in Europe see Azerbaijan as a key energy supplier as conventional resource partners plateau.

In an interview with the Trend news agency in Azerbaijan, SOCAR Economics Director General Tofig Gahramanov said the state-owned company is interested in reaching agreements with a diverse client base.

A delegation from Baku and SOCAR will visit South Korea soon to discuss long-term storage leases as the company examines its potential in Asian markets.

"It's no secret that presently Indochina and Southeast Asia as a whole occupies one of top places worldwide for energy consumption," he said.

He went on to describe the market for the Azeri Light crude blend as "infinite," saying only half of its oil is committed to European markets.

SOCAR was one of the primary developers of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the world's second-longest. The Caspian region as a whole has emerged as the new energy frontier as global markets look for alternatives to quench their energy appetite.