STAR Rafineri AS, a subsidiary of SOCAR Turkey Energy AS—the Turkish arm of State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic—has achieved integration of its recently commissioned 200,800-b/d SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR) in Izmir, Aliaga, Turkey, with Petkim Petrokimya Holding AS’s (Petkim) nearby 3.6 million-tonne/year petrochemical complex (OGJ Online, Oct. 25, 2018).
The STAR refinery recently delivered its first 1,303 tonnes of naphtha via pipelines to Petkim’s complex, marking the first steps of refining-petrochemical integration between the two sister sites, SOCAR Turkey Energy reported.
With all refining processes now in operation, the refinery is continuing to ramp up to full-production capacities in preparation to offer finished products to the domestic market as well as supply Petkim’s total naphtha feedstock requirements, the company said.
Upon achieving full-production rates, the STAR refinery will produce 4.8 million tpy of low-sulfur diesel, 1.6 million tpy of naphtha, 1.6 million tpy of jet fuel, and 300,000 tpy of LPG to meet 25% of Turkey’s refined petroleum product needs (OGJ Online, Sept. 12, 2018).
Delivery of first product to Petkim follows the $6.3-billion refinery’s official startup in October 2018 after receiving its first 80,000-tonne cargo of Azerbaijani Azeri Light crude from SOCAR in August (OGJ Online, Aug. 8, 2018).
The STAR refinery and Petkim petrochemical complex—of which SOCAR Turkey Energy owns 51%—form a central part of SOCAR’s strategy to increase competitiveness by further integrating refining and petrochemical operations, as well as to help reduce Turkey’s dependence on imported products.
Petkim previously carried out a $500 million bond to become and indirect shareholder of an 18% stake in the STAR refinery.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
