The Gas Processing Plant was incorporated into SOCAR by Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2007. The plant processes natural gas, gas condensate and a wide fraction of light hydrocarbons, producing treated natural gas, natural gasoline, commercial butane, a commercial propane-butane mixture and heavy condensate.
The plant was designed in 1958 by the GIPROAZNEFT Institute of the former USSR. The first phase of construction was completed in 1961 with the commissioning of Units 3 and 4. Unit 3 operated facilities for extracting gasoline from natural gas, while Unit 4 processed gas condensate and fractionated unstable natural gasoline. Under the second phase of construction, gasoline extraction facilities were built and commissioned in Unit 2 in 1963 and in Unit 1 in 1964. As a result, the plant reached a capacity of 4.5 billion m³ of natural gas processing per year. Following reconstruction works carried out in 1986, the plant's annual design capacity for natural gas processing was increased to 6.5 billion m³. In addition, during the reconstruction, the plant's underground natural gas pipelines were moved onto pipe racks, underground industrial water pipelines were replaced with aboveground lines, and two gas metering stations were established. In 2003–2004, metering stations known as the "high-pressure gas outlet" and the "general gas outlet" were commissioned at the plant. In 2009, an additional line was built and put into operation at the "general gas outlet" metering station.
In 1994, the shutdown of some gas-to-gasoline facilities led to a decline in the plant's annual processing capacity. To address this, large-scale overhauls were carried out in Process Units 1, 2 and 3. Modern devices were installed to measure the flow of incoming gas and outgoing dry gas, modern Optiflex 1300 level gauges were installed in the commodity and intermediate tank farms, and an automatic control system was installed in Unit 7.
In addition, the plant has an annual production capacity of 400 thousand tonnes of stable gas condensate and 650 thousand tonnes of unstable gas condensate.
Processed and treated natural gas is supplied to SOCAR's Gas Export Department, natural gasoline is supplied to Azerikimya Production Union, and commercial butane is sold on the open market.
The plant currently operates 8 production and service areas and a central laboratory.
In addition to being used in households and industry, natural gas is also a source of various products. In all cases, natural gas goes through a primary processing stage; even gas intended for household use is dried and treated before being fed into the main gas pipeline. Processed gas is also used as fuel for gas-powered vehicles, and thermal power plants use gas as fuel to generate electricity. Primary physical processing of natural gas can also yield jet and diesel fuel, as well as boiler fuel. In industry, natural gas is widely used as a feedstock for many products, such as plastics, and it is the main raw material for nitrogen fertilizers. Even to liquefy natural gas, it must first undergo primary physical processing.