Star refinery’s construction completed by 95pct
By Sara Israfilbayova
The construction of the Star oil refinery of the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, the largest project finance transaction in Turkey, is completed by 95 percent.
A total of 19,500 people from 14 countries, including 3,000 engineers work in the construction of the plant, which will be completed by the end of the year, Turkish media reported referring the plant’s director Mesut Ilter.
“After the launch of the refinery it is expected that Turkey will be able to save almost $1.5 billion a year on the import of petroleum products. The refinery will be able to process 10 million tons of oil a year with a warehouse capacity of 1.6 million,” Ilter said.
The plant will annually produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha, 5 million tons of diesel fuel, 1.6 million tons of jet fuel, 300,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 1 million tons of raw materials for petrochemical production.
Annual income of Azerbaijan’s economy from the Star oil refinery, costing over $5 billion to SOCAR, will exceed $600 million within the first five years after its commissioning, over the next 10 years, the annual income will exceed $800 million.
In accordance with the decree of the President Ilham Aliyev on additional measures to support the participation of the Azerbaijani side in the construction of the Star oil refinery in Turkey, a joint stock company SOCAR Turkey Yatirim was established with a statutory capital of $1.9 billion and a 40 percent state share.
SOCAR, being the largest foreign investor in Turkey, is the author of very important and large-scale projects in the energy industry. SOCAR entered the Turkish market with the acquisition of Petkim. The company’s investments in Turkey will be a total of $19.5 billion once they are completed -Petlim, STAR Oil Refinery, Petkim Wind Power Plant (WPP) and TANAP projects.
SOCAR includes such production associations as Azneft (the enterprises producing oil and gas onshore and offshore), Azerikimya (the chemical enterprises) and Azerigas (distributor of gas produced in the country), as well as oil and gas processing plants, service companies, and the facilities involved in geophysical and drilling operations.
The company participates in joint ventures (including ventures in Georgia and Turkey), consortia, and operating companies established with SOCAR’s participation.
Currently, SOCAR is the only producer of petroleum products in the country, and operates more than 370 petrol stations in Switzerland, Georgia, Romania and Ukraine.
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