SOCAR to boost its Türkiye-based refinery’s production capacity

It is planned to increase the annual production capacity of the STAR oil refinery, an asset of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in Turkey, to 13 million tonnes in 2024.

The remarks came from Head of the refining and petrochemistry division of SOCAR in Türkiye (Türkiye Refining and Petrochemical Business Unit), Acting CEO of Petkim Petrokimya Holding Kanan Mirzoyev, according to Report.

According to him, since its establishment, the STAR refinery has achieved a significant increase in capacity through optimization: "The capacity of the refinery has been increased from 10 to 12 million tons. In line with current market conditions and expected global trends, we see positive prospects for both Petkim and the STAR plant."

Mirzoyev stressed that the refinery, which accounts for about 25% of the production of petroleum products in Türkiye and 19.5 per cent of the domestic market, achieved high profitability in 2022: "We can say that this dynamics will continue in 2023. In particular, the difference in price between Brent and other grades of oil had a positive impact on us in terms of raw materials supplies and was the main reason for the improvement in profit indicators. We aim to continue this successful activity in 2024."

He said the performance of both the sector and Petkim in 2024 will be driven by global interest rate policy, changes in demand from countries, particularly China, and energy prices.

SOCAR Türkiye’s Refining and Petrochemicals Business Unit includes STAR Refinery, Petkim Petrokimya Holding, the commercial division of SOCAR Trading, the oil products and liquefied gas storage division of SOCAR Depolama, and the Petkim RES division responsible for the operation of the wind farm.

The STAR Refinery was commissioned on 19 October 2018 and is designed to process Azeri Light, Kerkuk and other grades of crude oil.