BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.2
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
SOCAR Turkey will offer new products in 2021 depending on the market demand, Trend quoted Zaur Gahramanov, chief executive officer of SOCAR Turkey, as saying.
"The start of vaccination gives hope. If everything goes well and the demand recovers in the second half of 2021, this will more positively affect our financial results. With STAR Refinery and Petkim, we will continue to produce raw materials and refinery products that the market needs. We will offer new products depending on the market demand,” he told Turkish media.
Gahramanov pointed out that Petkim petrochemical complex operated successfully in 2020. “Despite the slowdown in trade around the world, Petkim received its main raw material naphtha from the STAR Refinery without the need to import it from different parts of the world. Petkim reached its sales targets planned before the pandemic.”
He recalled that in the first nine months of 2020, product prices in the petrochemical sector decreased by 25 percent due to the pandemic and global conditions. “Nevertheless, Petkim's net profit increased by 36 percent to 311 million TL compared to the same period of the previous year.”
Star Refinery, with investment value of $6.3 billion came on stream in October 2018. Around $3.3 billion of the project’s cost was covered by loans. The total investment in Star Refinery is expected to stand at $7 billion.
The annual processing capacity of Star Refinery is 10 million tons. It meets around 25 percent of Turkey’s refined oil products. The refinery is able to process 214,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Petkim is the first and the sole integrated petrochemical facility in Turkey. It is the largest exporter in the Aegean region. Petkim’s production capacity is 3.6 million tons per year. The petrochemical complex produces around 60 different types of products and exports to 78 countries. The complex meets about 20 percent of Turkey’s demand for petrochemical products.
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