The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) plans to invest $120 million in a new jet fuel production unit at the STAR oil refinery in Turkey, Turkish media reported, citing SOCAR Turkiye.
Head of the SOCAR Turkiye Refining & Petrochemical Business Unit and CEO of the Turkish company Petkim Petrokimya Holding Kenan Mirzayev said that the project will improve the refinery's operational flexibility and energy efficiency, while reducing Turkey's exposure to diesel fuel imports.
"As part of this investment of approximately 6 billion liras, we will move jet fuel production to a new 'Jet Fuel' (Kero-Merox) unit and create additional capacity for diesel fuel production, about 600,000 tonnes per year. This will give us more flexibility to produce jet fuel and diesel on market conditions," Kenan Mirzayev said.
According to him, the new project would push SOCAR's total investment in Turkey to $20 billion. Construction work is set to begin in the coming days, with the new unit scheduled for commissioning in the first quarter of 2029.
Throughput capacity of the STAR refinery, launched in 2018, had been increased from an initial 10 million tonnes to 13 million tonnes per year. As a result, STAR has become Turkey's largest standalone oil refinery.
