SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan Republic, will invest EUR 50 million in Romania in the next 2-3 years to expand its gas station network, said Vitaliy Baylarbayov, SOCAR deputy vice-president.

The group has already invested EUR 50 million in Romania. It has opened 32 gas stations hiring about 400 people. The company will open another 3 or 4 gas stations by the end of the year, and another 10 units in 2016.

“We will continue like that for another 3-4 years, opening about 10 gas stations per year in Romania,” Baylarbayov said, cited by local Mediafax.

SOCAR will build some of the new stations from scratch, whereas others will be bought and rebranded. The company doesn’t aim to become the largest player on the local market, but wants to continue its expansion.

Last year, SOCAR had EUR 166 million in sales in Romania, up by 28% compared to 2013. Its biggest competitors are OMV Petrom - controlled by Austria’s OMV, Rompetrol – owned by Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas, Russian group Lukoil and Hungary’s Mol.

editor@romania-insider.com