Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21
By Elchin Huseynov - Trend:
During the recent official visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Turkey very significant talks were held and important agreements were achieved, what may serve as the beginning of new projects, SOCAR Turkey Enerji President, Kenan Yavuz said on Nov. 21 in an interview with Azerbaijani media in Istanbul.
The strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan is strengthening and is actively continuing thanks to the projects, Yavuz said.
"SOCAR has become the largest investor in the history of the Turkish economy, the company implements projects, the financial costs of which could reach $20 billion. These projects will represent Azerbaijan to the world not only as a supplier of oil and natural gas. At the same time investments in projects based on advanced scientific technology will bring Azerbaijan and Turkey to a new level," he said.
Along with such major projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and the acquisition of Petkim, Azerbaijan also implements a $9.5 billion project in Izmir at Star refinery, on the basis of the energy, petrochemical and logistics integration, Yavuz said.
Together with the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), the launch of which is planned for 2014, the investment will exceed $19 billion, and will possibly reach $20 billion.
"This means that over the next five years SOCAR will be the second largest industrial company in Turkey and will be able to move forward in 2023," Yavuz said.
Some $5.5 billion will be invested in the Star refinery project, the construction of which will be completed in 2017.
"Thus we will become owners of the oil refinery complex, which is of strategic and economic importance for Turkey. Today, such refineries in Turkey are owned by Tupras company, and so we will become the second player in this sphere," Yavuz said.
The head of SOCAR Turkey Enerji reported that construction of Turkey's largest container port in Izmir, which began three months ago, is being accelerated. Some $ 300 million were invested in the construction, which will be completed in 20 months. The project is implemented jointly with the largest container company in the world AP Moller-Maersk Group.
These and other projects will serve to the political stability and peace in the region, and they are important not only for Azerbaijan, Turkey, but also for Europe, and will open the way for new initiatives, the President of SOCAR Turkey Enerji said.
