Azeri state energy company SOCAR will participate in a tender to buy Austrian oil company OMV's network of nearly 1,800 petrol stations in Turkey, a SOCAR official said on Tuesday, Vagif Aliyev, the head of SOCAR's investment department, told Reuters.

OMV said in February it was putting Turkish fuel products distribution and lubricants subsidiary OMV Petrol Ofisi up for sale as part of its strategy to dispose of non-core assets.

"SOCAR has submitted an application to participate in a tender for buying the network of petrol stations from OMV," he said.

Chinese and Japanese companies have expressed interest in buying OMV Petrol Ofisi, which is also the largest distributor of lubricants in Turkey.

SOCAR needs a network of petrol stations to integrate with its oil refinery in the Turkish city of Izmir, which is due to be completed in 2018.