Chemical industry is one of the key sectors of the Azerbaijani economy. Azerbaijan’s proximity to the raw materials of oil and gas, salt, iodine-bromide mine water, and the waste of ferrous metals, combined with access to large neighbor consumers, gives Azerbaijan a comparative advantage in the sector. During the Soviet period, Azerbaijan was one of the centers of chemical industry and produced over 70% of chemicals for the former Soviet Union economy. To meet the long-term demand in the region, and to conform to international standards, the Government recognizes that the future competitiveness of the sector requires investment to adopt high-technology techniques. It has adopted regulations to reach the highest standards of environmental protection. There are some chemical enterprises in Azerbaijan which are a great help to the chemical industry.
The "Azerikimya" Production Union has been established within SOCAR. The Syndicate has an ethylene-polyethylene plant (EP-300, Polymer-120, isopropyl alcohol production unit, production of steam and electric energy) and a repair and construction division. The Syndicate's plants have the following capacities: ethylene-polyethylene plant - 260,000 tons of ethylene per year, 136,000 tons of propylene per year, 120,000 tons of polypropylene per year, 25,000 tons of industrial isopropyl alcohol per year, and 24400 tons of absolute isopropyl alcohol per year, 1,750 tons of absolute di-isopropyl alcohol per year, and 480 tons of steam per hour and 32 MW of electric power per hour.
The Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery has processed more than 300,000,000 tons of oil, added new facilities, applied state of the art technologies, and produced different kinds of petroleum products. At present, the refinery is processing 21 out of 24 grades of Azerbaijanian crude and 15 different petroleum products, including automotive gasoline, aviation kerosene, diesel fuel, black oil, petroleum coke, and others. The plant is meeting the republic’s entire demand for petroleum products completely. 45% of its petroleum products are exported.