Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Revenues of the Turkish petrochemical holding Petkim, in which Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR has equity interest, increased by 149 percent to 54 million Lira in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012.

Petkim Petrokimya Holding reported that its revenues increased by 91 percent compared to the previous quarter.

The company manufactures plastic packaging, fabric, PVC and detergents, and is the only Turkish producer of such products, a quarter of which are exported.

The trade turnover of the holding decreased by 18 percent to $990 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of last year.

During the reporting period, Petkim's sales rose 7 percent to 402,000 tons. Exports amounted to $231 million.

Also, $20 million was invested in the first quarter of 2013 in scheduled maintenance and increasing production efficiency.

In March 2012, Socar Turkey Enerji A.Ş and SOCAR International DMCC OGG purchased 10.32 percent of stock in Petkim, increasing their share to 61.32 percent. 38.67 percent of the shares are in free circulation on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, Head of SOCAR Turkey Enerji, a board member of Petkim Petrochemical Holding, Kenan Yavuz, said that SOCAR Turkey may become an open joint-stock company in the future.

Talking to local media, Yavuz said the company intends to implement a number of important energy projects, in particular, those seeking to create an oil refinery, a pipeline, as well as petrochemical and logistics projects.

"The total cost of these projects amounts to $17 billion. With all these projects SOCAR Turkey may become an open joint-stock company. Currently we are working in this direction," Yavuz said.

SOCAR is one of the world's most well-established oil companies, active in Turkey since May 30, 2008. SOCAR Turkey aims to reduce dependence on foreign production and exports in Turkey by providing high value-added products produced inside the country.