SOCAR to replace gas turbines with electric compressors offshore

Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR) plans to replace gas turbines with electric compressors at its offshore facilities, SOCAR Vice President Afghan Isayev said at Baku Climate Action Week 2026 (BCAW 2026), Report informs.

"We are grateful to the Ministry of Energy and our transmission system operator, which is leading this initiative. We have agreed with them on a special energy-swapping arrangement, which will help us with the electrification process," he said.

Isayev noted that a new substation had been built for this purpose, with the full support of the government, partners and the transmission system operator.

"The ceremony for supplying first power to this facility will take place next year. This is only the beginning. After that, in close cooperation with the technical operator, we will connect our offshore facilities to one another by cable, remove the gas turbines and replace them with electrical equipment, such as electrically driven compressors," he said.

Isayev added that GE, Baker Hughes and several other companies are currently producing electric compressors.

"There are also plans for central compressor stations in the future. Electric compressors will be used for these purposes at each of them," he said.

The SOCAR vice president emphasized that energy efficiency is currently of critical importance.

"Therefore, this process must be carried out in parallel with renewable energy generation. Together with its partners, SOCAR will work on facilities capable of operating 24 hours a day. The goal is to provide uninterrupted power around the clock by combining renewable energy with battery energy storage systems," he added.