SOCAR Trading is looking to expand in North America, having opened an office in Calgary in recent months and eyeing a second one in Houston.

It was referring to the Reuters, said Arzu Azimov, Chief Executive of SOCARTrading.

The company has opened an office of some 15 staff in Calgary. It also holds some storage at Cushing, Oklahoma.

“The move into Calgary, which includes hiring former PetroChina and BP Plc executive Gary Pon as its head of trading, gives the company a chance to grow market share in a bigger part of the opaque crude market while others scale back”, he said.

A.Azimov also commented on closing several SOCAR’s foreign offices. A.Azimov said the closures were part of a cost-saving program, but not related to its trading division. He said that instead, market volatility has helped the trading arm.

A.Azimov said he expects the market to reach around $60 a barrel by year end, though he does not exclude a drop to $40 in the interim.