STAR refinery in Turkey’s İzmir receives first batch of crude oil

İZMİR

STAR oil refinery in the Aegean province of İzmir has received the first batch of crude oil for processing from Azerbaijan, SOCAR Turkey said in a statement on Aug. 3.

The volume of Azeri Light oil delivered to the refinery stood at 80,000 tons.

The delivery of the first batch of crude for the refinery from Azerbaijan, the homeland of SOCAR, is “an important event,” said SOCAR Turkey CEO Zaur Gahramanov.

The refinery, which was established for a $6.3 billion investment, is expected to start operating in the fourth quarter of 2018 after initial test production process is completed.

STAR Refinery General Manager Mesut İlter said the refinery would help Turkey slash its current account deficit by $1.5 billion on a yearly basis.

The plant is expected to produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha and 420,000 tons of xylenes, he noted.

It will also produce about 4.8 million tons of diesel, alongside jet fuel, petroleum coke, reformate, sulfur and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), said İlter, adding: “With STAR Refinery becoming online, Turkey’s competitiveness in global energy markets will increase.”

The refinery also aims at supplying feedstock to Turkish petrochemicals firm Petkim.

STAR Refinery will offer jobs to 1,100 people when it starts production, read the statement.

Nearly 20,000 jobs were created during the refinery construction, it added.