BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Turkish subsidiary of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is in talks with the UK INEOS and other investors on Merkury project, the second petrochemical investment in Turkey, Trend quoted SOCAR Turkey Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors Vagif Aliyev as saying.
SOCAR Turkey doesn’t want to postpone this project for a long term, he told Turkish media.
“We can implement this project with a partner experienced in petrochemicals or with a financing partner, which is on our high agenda. Other petrochemical investments in Turkey does not affect the Mercury project,” Vagif Aliyev noted.
He said the final decision on this project will be made in 2022.
BP and SOCAR Turkey signed a heads of agreement (HoA) in 2018 to evaluate the creation of a joint venture that would build and operate a world-scale petrochemicals complex in Turkey. However, BP left the project after abandoning all petrochemical investments.
The facility will be located at SOCAR Turkey’s Private Industrial Zone in Aliaga, which includes STAR refinery and major Petkim petrochemicals site.
The complex will produce 1.25 million tons of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), 840,000 tons of P-Xylene (PX) and 340,000 tons of benzene annually, reads the report. The plant will reduce Turkey's PTA import to zero.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn