Turkey's largest foreign investor, SOCAR, has acquired EWE Turkey Holding and its group of companies, which manages the operations of the German energy company EWE AG in Turkey. “The purchase of this natural gas distribution business will complete our investment chain in Turkey, creating additional value for Azerbaijan and Turkey,'' said Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR.

Turkey's largest foreign investor, SOCAR, has acquired EWE Turkey Holding and its group of companies, which manages the operations of the German energy company EWE AG in Turkey. “The purchase of this natural gas distribution business will complete our investment chain in Turkey, creating additional value for Azerbaijan and Turkey,'' said Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR.

SOCAR aims to become a major industrial actor in Turkey through the wide range of investment projects and acquisitions. In the next step SOCAR acquired Bursagaz, Kayserigaz, Enervis, EWE Energy and Millenicom, the companies within EWE Turkey Holding. SOCAR has been supplying natural gas to the Turkish market for the last 12 years and began expanding its operations this year through the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), a major joint project between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The acquisition of EWE Turkey will enhance the value of the natural gas distribution sector and create favorable conditions for SOCAR to access directly the end customer market in Turkey. The acquisition process will be finalized after the approval by the Competition Authority and other related organizations.

Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, stressed that natural gas distribution is one of the key links in completing the investment chain in Turkey. He said: “Since 2013, SOCAR, the global brand of Azerbaijan, has been supplying 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year wholesale in the Turkish market. TANAP pipeline, which was commissioned last year, created more favorable conditions for the export of natural gas from Azerbaijan. The synergies created by purchasing EWE's assets in Turkey will bring significant benefits to the economies of Azerbaijan and Turkey. Thus, SOCAR's entry into the natural gas distribution business in Turkey is a commercially expedient strategic step that completes the links of the production-transportation-distribution chain. Therefore, after the integration of EWE assets into our company, we will continue to evaluate other opportunities in the market. ''

Turkey's fourth largest natural gas supplier

EWE Turkey Holding has been operating in the Turkish market since 2007 and has been involved in the energy, natural gas distribution and telecommunications sectors through Bursagaz, Kayserigaz, Enervis, EWE Energy and Millenicom. EWE Turkey Holding is the fourth largest natural gas supplier in Turkey with Bursagaz and Kayserigaz, reaching a turnover of approximately 2.4 billion Turkish Lira by the end of 2017.

About SOCAR

SOCAR is one of the leading international energy companies. In order to ensure the economic interests of the Azerbaijani people, SOCAR is a major operator and participant in a number of transnational projects across the country and abroad. The company is active in all the oil and gas industry value chains. Exploration of oil and gas fields, production, processing and transportation of oil, gas and gas condensate constitute the main part of the operations of SOCAR. SOCAR also exports natural gas, oil and petrochemical products to the country's market, as well as international markets. The company's goal is to become a vertical integrated international energy company with advanced experience in the field of effective operation, social and environmental responsibility. As an important EU energy supplier, SOCAR plays a special role in the sustainable economic development of Europe.