OREANDA-NEWS. September 26, 2012. SOCAR opened its first service station in Switzerland on September 25 in Zurich. The opening ceremony was attended by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev, members of the company’s delegation, representatives of Swiss business and political circles and public figures.

 Speaking at the event, Walter Steinmann, director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, congratulated the SOCAR management and emphasized the important role of the Company will play in Switzerland's energy policies. According to him, there had been a close relationship for years between Switzerland and Azerbaijan in the oil and gas business. He said the entry of SOCAR into Switzerland's retail energy business would open a new chapter in this relationship. It was mentioned at the event that SOCAR was the first new brand opened in the Swiss service station industry in over 20 years. As Edgar Bachmann, CEO of SOCAR Energy Switzerland mentioned at the opening celebration, the new brand stands for top quality, outstanding customer service, high safety standards and industry-leading management. According to Herbert Bolliger, CEO of Migros, SOCAR filling stations provide new opportunities for this network.

It was pointed out that on July 1, 2012, SOCAR took over from US ExxonMobil the entire business of Esso Schweiz GmbH, including the filling stations and network of service stations. By mid-2013 all 160 Esso petrol stations in Switzerland will be rebranded as SOCAR. In the new future, the SOCAR brand will appear even more quickly in the aviation industry as well as on road tankers and product tanks. By the end of the year, SOCAR plans to open 13 more service stations in the cantons of Zurich, St. Gallen and Vaud. The next SOCAR service station grand openings will be in Opfikon and Effretikon on October 6 and in Schlieren on October 13.