SOCAR Türkiye to Establish R&D Center in Aliağa

Petkim General Director Anar Mammadov, STAR Refinery General Director Mesut İlter and SOCAR Turkey External Relations Manager Murat LeCompte attended an iftar dinner where production and planned investments in Aliağa were discussed. Petkim General Director Anar Mammadov stated that STAR Refinery, which has been in production for seven months, produced a total of 84 thousand tons of feedstock in the first quarter of 2019, including 75 thousand tons of naphtha. "This volume will increase gradually in the coming period and sourcing the same quality product without logistics costs will provide us significant performance gains. The emerging petrochemistry-refinery integration will substantially increase efficiency. Petkim, which has reached 99 percent capacity, is breaking sales and profitability records today," he said. STAR Refinery General Director Mesut İlter stated that they have targets to process 8 million tons of feedstock by year-end. Noting that the refinery will begin operating at full capacity within a short time, İlter said, "It will contribute USD 1.5 billion annually to reducing the current account deficit. STAR Refinery, which was realized with a USD 6.3 billion investment, will reach a value of USD 7 billion by the end of 2020 with planned additional projects aimed at increasing operational flexibility, tank capacity and logistics capability." İlter continued: "We will increase the USD 15 billion investment we have made to date to USD 19.5 billion. We have serious investment plans through 2023. We aim to make the peninsula in Aliağa one of the world's leading chemistry centers." SOCAR Turkey External Relations Manager Murat LeCompte, providing information on the new petrochemistry investment, stated that work is continuing to commission the facility, which will cost approximately USD 1.8 billion, in 2023. LeCompte added that SOCAR Turkey will also establish a Research and Development center in Aliağa that can be used by all sector stakeholders and universities. Source: Milliyet