SOCAR achieves BBB rating from leading international rating agency

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has received a BBB rating for sustainability from MSCI, a leading international ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) rating agency, for 2024.

This BBB rating reflects SOCAR's achievements in reducing carbon emissions, enhancing public relations, promoting biodiversity, ensuring health and safety, and demonstrating effective governance and transparency, Caliber.Az reports, citing SOCAR.

SOCAR is notable for being the first energy company in the Caspian region to achieve this rating, positioning it higher than most national oil companies in this regard. This rating, a result of intensive efforts to enhance environmental, social, and governance practices, will support the successful implementation of SOCAR's sustainability strategy, which includes plans related to ecology, social policy, and governance. SOCAR also highlights positive developments in its credit ratings.

This year, Fitch upgraded SOCAR's long-term credit rating from BB+/Positive to investment-grade BBB-/Stable. Moody's raised its rating from Ba1/Stable to Ba1/Positive, while Standard and Poor's reaffirmed SOCAR's rating at BB-/Stable. MSCI assigns ratings to global public companies on a scale from CCC to AAA, assessing their resilience to long-term, industry-specific, environmental, social, and governance risks. 

Established in 1992, SOCAR plays a crucial role in the country's energy sector, overseeing a range of activities from upstream exploration to downstream refining and marketing. The company operates several key assets, including the major offshore fields in the Caspian Sea such as Gunashli and Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli, which are integral to Azerbaijan's oil production. 

SOCAR is also involved in various international projects and has investments in multiple countries, reflecting its global presence. Chevron Corporation is the US multinational energy corporation predominantly specialising in oil and gas. Chevron works to meet the world's growing demand for energy by exploring for oil and natural gas; refining and marketing gasoline; producing chemicals.

By Naila Huseynova