Turkish Turcas Petrol discusses share sale in Star refinery
By Aynur Jafarova
Turkish Turcas Petrol Company, the participant of the Star oil refinery of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR, started negotiations on selling its share in the project.
The news was announced by Trend Agency on March 26 with reference to the Turkish media.
The company possesses a 18.5-percent share in the project.
Earlier, Turcas Petrol intended to sell only 13.5 percent of its share in the project on the construction of the Star refinery, and retain 5 percent of it.
The refinery is under construction in Turkey's Izmir city.
Rafineri Holding A.Ş. currently holds 41.5 percent of the stake in the project (100 percent of it is owned by SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş.), while 18.5 percent of it is owned by Turcas Petrol and 40 percent by SOCAR.
Turkish media noted that if SOCAR purchases Turcas Petrol's share in the project, SOCAR's share will increase to 60 percent.
The new Star oil refinery will be operational in 2017. With an annual capacity of 10 million tons, it will be capable of refining oil grades such as Azeri Light, Kirkuk, and Urals.
Some 16 billion cubic meters of gas will be produced in the Shah Deniz Stage 2 development and exported to energy markets. This figure will be increased by one billion cubic meters per year.
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 region and country's economy by creating job opportunities and increasing competitiveness.