The Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery was established on the 29th of July 1953 by the USSR Ministry of Oil Industry. Formerly, the refinery had different names and was known as the New Baku Oil Refinery, AzerOilFuel Production Association, and AzerOilFuel Oil Refinery, respectively. On the 50th anniversary of the refinery on the 22nd of April 2004, it was named after the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev.
The Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery processes 21 out of 24 types of Azerbaijani oil and produces 15 types of oil products. The list of the refinery’s products includes gasoline, aviation kerosene, diesel fuel, petroleum coke, and fuel oil. It should be noted that the refinery meets the bulk of the domestic demand.
The oil refinery has 4 primary processing units: ED-AV-6, catalytic reforming, gradual coking, and catalytic cracking units, which were operated in 1976, 1980, 1986, and 1993, respectively. Preliminary oil refining is carried out in the combined package atmospheric-vacuum unit ED-AVQ-6 for pre-desalination of oil and re-expulsion of petrol. The products are sent as primary products to Azerikimya’s Ethylene-Polyethylene Factory and other facilities. TC-1 jet engine fuel is produced in this unit and sent to consumers as a finished product.
The catalytic cracking unit, with an annual capacity of 2 million tons, allows the production of high-octane petrol components. In addition, the refinery produces technical propane, technical butane, and dry gas for Azerikimya and light condensate, which is essential for producing diesel fuel.
The catalytic reforming unit, with an annual capacity of one million tons, produces a stable platformate that is one of the key components in producing A-92 petrol.
The gradual coking unit produces coke for export, dry gas for Azerikimya, coking gasoline, light, and heavy coking oil.
In addition, the refinery includes a hydrotreated diesel and gasoline production unit, a new bitumen unit with 400 000-ton production capacity, two primary refining units with a production capacity of 2 million tons each, and a unit for the production of Euro-4 diesel fuel and different oils with an annual capacity of 790,000 tons.
By 2017, the refinery had processed more than 300 million tons of oil. In 2019 and 2020, 6 and 5.9 million tons of oil were refined, respectively. However, due to the aging of the refinery’s facilities and the growing demand of the domestic and foreign markets, it was decided to reconstruct and modernize it. In addition, the installation of new facilities to protect the environment and human health has become urgent. Therefore, the project is currently being implemented to increase the refinery's production capacity, optimize current costs, and bring the quality of oil products to the EURO-5 standard, as well as its reconstruction and modernization to meet the needs of Azerkimya PA in primary products.
As a result, it is planned to increase the annual primary processing capacity of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery from 6 million tons to 7.5 million tons, as well as increase the production capacity of the catalytic cracking unit from 2 million tons to 2.5 million tons per year. The project is being implemented phase by phase. In December 2018, the project's first phase was completed, and a new bitumen plant with a production capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year was commissioned, and the country’s needs in this area have been fully met. In addition, a liquefied gas (LPG) filling station was operated. After the completion of the first stage, Azerkimya was able to supply the Steam Cracking Unit with primary products. In the next step, the refinery’s current facilities will be replaced with new facilities. In 2023, it is expected that engine fuels will meet the requirements of the EURO-5 standard.