Azerbaijan Increases Proportion of Fuel Oil in Production of Electricity and Heat

The Tariff Council of February 23 announced a reduction in heating oil prices tripled from 300 to 100 manat.

The reasons for this have not been announced, but a series of static data and delaying the start of the heating season, which was to begin no later than 15 November, reflecting the desire of the government to increase import demand abroad gas, and replace it in the domestic market more expensive fuel oil to produce electricity and heat.

Since the spring of this year, there was a steady downward trend in exports of petroleum products, including fuel oil. Thus, in April it was exported 126.4 thousand tons and in May the figure was 109.3 thousand tons.

In 2014, Azerbaijan produced 200 thous. Tons of fuel oil, which is much less than in Russia, where it was produced 78 million tons, or the lion's share of all oil produced in the CIS.

Statistics also show that Azerbaijan has sharply increased imports of fuel oil. Only Kazakhstan exported to Azerbaijan 40.5 thousand tons of fuel oil totaling $ 9 million in January-May 2015. That is 14 times more than for the same period in 2014. On average, oil was purchased at the price of 220 dollars per ton. Today in Kazakhstan oil is offered on the market at a price of 65-75 dollars per ton. In Russia, the price is slightly higher - $ 100 per ton.

Plans to increase the use of fuel oil in the domestic market have been developed by the Government in 2013. In February, the excise duty on domestic fuel oil was reduced 49 times to relieve pressure on producers of electricity and heat, and thus prevent the increase in prices for electricity, which costs 0.06 manat per kW. And now threefold reduction in the price of fuel oil, which becomes a major fuel for power generation, should make producers of electricity and heat even more cost-effective, as well as distribution companies, who complain about the high prices of manufacturers. -0-