The opening and commissioning of facilities that will increase the storage potential of raw materials and finished products of the STAR oil refinery took place, according to the report.
New investment projects are being implemented at the STAR refinery (subsidiary of SOCAR Turkey) with a design capacity of 10 million tons of crude oil per year, to increase the storage capacity.
SOCAR Storage Terminal Tank Expansion Project has been completed and these facilities have been commissioned, and a project was launched to increase the capacity of STAR refinery tanks for crude oil and intermediate products of the plant.
Rovnag Abdullayev, president of SOCAR, Vagif Aliyev, chair of the Board of SOCAR Turkey, Zaur Gahramanov, CEO of SOCAR Turkey, Mesut Ilter, general director of STAR Refinery, Anar Mammadov, general director of Petkim and executives of the project contractors attended the ceremony.
With the new investments, the storage capacity used by SOCAR Turkey and its customers will reach to 2.5 million cubic meters.
Speaking at the ceremony, SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev stated that SOCAR continues its investments in the oil, natural gas and petrochemical sectors.
“Last year we were here for the inauguration ceremony of the STAR Refinery,” he said. “We are happy to be back in Aliaga (town and a district of Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey) for our new projects within a year. Our petrochemical investments constitutes an important pillar of our operations, creating a long-term income source by bringing added value to the Azerbaijan economy, as well as making a big contribution to the region and Turkey. In this context, Petkim generated 47.2 billion liras worth of revenue and more than 4 billion liras net profit during the last decade. Furthermore, 4 million tons of oil were refined in the STAR Refinery, and this indicator will reach 8 million tons by the end of this year.”
Abdullayev underlined that the increase of storage capacity will also contribute to the productivity, commercial flexibility and production safety of STAR Refinery.
“Centuries-old friendship between Azerbaijan and Turkey has made great progress in economic sphere with the will and support of the presidents of the two countries,” SOCAR president noted. “We look forward to extending our cooperation and strengthening our economic ties in the future.”
SOCAR Storage Terminal Tank Expansion Project inaugurated at the ceremony, includes 12 tanks with a total capacity of 335,000 cubic meters. The terminal is the biggest one in the Aegean region. With the new facilities, which will further increase the capacity, it will be one of Turkey’s five biggest terminals.
The facility will store diesel, gasoline, jet fuel. Its construction started in September 2017.
The next stage will be STAR Refinery Crude Oil and Oil Products Tanks Project, started with the groundbreaking ceremony. This project will increase the refinery’s storage capacity and enhance operational flexibility. The project that will provide additional 342,000 cubic meters of storage capacity is scheduled to finish in 2021.
