Azerbaijani specialists to be part of Star refinery
By Aynur Jafarova
Azerbaijan specialists will constitute a part of the Star refinery personnel, the Project Interface Manager at SOCAR Turkey STAR Refinery said on November 11.
The Star refinery will be constructed in Izmir, Turkey.
"The member companies of the EPC consortium which are participating in the implementation of the project have sufficient experience. They have carried out work in 24 relevant oil refineries in the last five years," Afgan Guliyev said at the Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea Oil and Gas Week 2013
"Furthermore, the contractors have the experience of working in the Turkish market," he added.
Guliyev went on to note that the refinery will have its own personnel.
"The consortium will prepare specialists who will then work in the refinery. They will pass a half-year training including experience in other similar refineries. Afterwards, the personnel will participate in all the operations and projects of the Star refinery, while the subcontractors will be involved only in big projects," he said.
The Star refinery's processing capacity is projected at 10 million tons of crude oil, and it will be capable of refining such oil grades as Azeri Light, Kirkuk and Urals. Annual production at the refinery will equal 1.6 million tons of naphtha, 4.95 million tons of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, 1.695 million tons of jet fuel, 261,000 tons of LPG, 525,000 tons of reformat, 698,000 tons of petroleum coke, and 1.157 million tons of sulfur.
The refinery will be constructed by a consortium consisting of Tecnicas Reunidas from Spain, Saipem from Italy, GS Engineering from South Korea, and Itochu from Japan.
Estimated at $5.5 billion, the refinery is mostly intended for creating a resource base for the chemical company Petkim Holding. It will contribute significantly to the economy of the region and the country by creating job opportunities and increasing competitiveness.
The Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea Oil and Gas Week 2013, held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on November 11-13, included discovering of the latest developments in current pipeline and infrastructure projects, uncovering the existing potentials in the region's Gas Storage and pipeline projects, networking with the key players involved in exploration and production in the region, and finding the latest underwater and subsea technological trends and updates.