BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 28
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijani state oil company’s Star Refinery may resume jet fuel production as soon as tourism recovers, said head of the SOCAR Turkey Refinery and Petrochemicals Business Unit Anar Mammadov, Trend reports.
Jet fuel consumption has decreased significantly due to flight bans. Therefore, Star Refinery has converted its jet fuel production into diesel.
“Right now, it is impossible to predict how long will this situation in the market last. However, if the pandemic is brought under control, we can see rising prices for crude oil and products and the sector may enter the normalization process by the year end. If the pandemic is brought under control in spring and summer when tourism revives, the normalization process can also begin. With the recovery of the tourism sector, the jet fuel consumption can also increase. With such positive developments, we can also resume jet fuel production,” he told PETROTURK.
Mammadov noted that COVID-19 firstly affect aviation, logistics and transportation sectors.
“Almost all flights and road transport was banned in many countries due to travel restrictions. Of course, such a situation negatively affected the oil market. Due to the stagnation in the market, some refineries underwent maintenance earlier than planned, while new refineries, which have just completed their planned maintenance, decided to extend it. Refineries, which have high crude oil storage capacities and have the flexibility to make rapid changes in the production plan in such scenarios, are more advantageous than other refineries,” he said.
The opening ceremony of the Star oil refinery took place on October 19, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey.
The total refining capacity of the refinery is 10 million tons. The refinery will significantly reduce the dependence of Turkey on imports of petrochemical products.
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