Azernews.Az

SOCAR Turkey Energy, a subsidiary of Azerbaijani state energy SOCAR, will start importing 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan from January 1, 2013, its head, Kenan Yavuz, has said.

Yavuz, a board member of the Petkim petrochemicals company, which is majority owned by SOCAR, said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Zaman, published on Tuesday, that 400-500 million cubic meters of imported gas will be used for production at the Petkim complex, while the rest of the gas will be sold in Turkey's domestic market.

Yavuz said many Turkish companies are interested in purchasing gas imported from Azerbaijan.

Currently, SOCAR Turkey Energy has a power plant with capacity of 220 megawatts, however, after the commissioning of the Petkim oil complex energy demand will increase to 350 megawatts, Yavuz said.

A new power plant with capacity of 150-200 megawatts will be opened to meet Petkim's needs. The cost of the new power plant, which will run on coal, will be $200 million, Yavuz said.

On March 30, SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S and SOCAR International DMCC OGG acquired a 10.32 per cent stake in Petkim, increasing SOCAR's stake in the company to 61.32 per cent. Some 38.67 per cent are in free circulation at the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Petkim Petrokimya Holding manufactures plastic packages, fabric, PVC, detergents, and is the only Turkish producer of such products, a quarter of which the company exports.