Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend S.Aliyev / Socar Turcas Energy Company began selecting the company which will devise the project of the environmental and social impacts of an oil refinery plant in Ceyhan ( Turkey), a source stated in the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) on 16 November.
The project will be ready next year. In addition, it is intended to project and begin construction of the new plant in 2008.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said at the meeting on energy situation and preparation to the winter period that constructing the oil refinery plant in the Port of Ceyhan is impossible without the participation of SOCAR because it needs to direct oil there in order to construct the oil refinery plant and the oil belongs to the SOCAR. "To my knowledge, currently talks are being held on this issue and of course, the SOCAR should become the key shareholder to the oil refinery plant which will be constructed in the Port of Ceyhan," the President said.
The enterprises will be in two stages, the first envisages establishment of oil refinery enterprise and the second petrochemical complex. The construction of the ORP is scheduled to begin in 2008 and conclude by 2012. It is planned to produce a large specter of oil products: all types of high quality petrol, mazut, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene and petro-chemical products. The enterprise is aimed at the Turkish market.
The Government of Turkey received 3 applications for the construction of a new oil refinery plant in the area of Ceyhan port. There were three groups of companies wishing to build ORPs. The first group included Calik Enerji of Turkey, KazMunayGas of Kazakhstan and Oil India of India, the second group - Turkish company TURCAS and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the third group - the Turkish company Petroil offici and the Austrian company OMV. Turkey is presently experiencing a shortage of oil refining facilities. Today, Turkey's needs in oil reaches are 32mln tons per year. The 5 oil refineries presently operational in Turkey may produce up to 26.5mln tons of oil product, and the country has to rely on importing the rest of the 6 -7mln tons of oil products, buying oil refined products from Russian or Italian companies. According to predictions, by 2010, Turkey's oil dependency will increase to 34mln tons and up to 43mln tons by 2012.