STAR Refinery to Make a New Investment of 6 Billion Turkish Liras
STAR Refinery has begun the engineering, procurement and construction process for a new jet fuel unit, with an investment of approximately 6 billion Turkish Liras. The new Jet Fuel (Kero-Merox) Unit is expected to increase the refinery’s annual diesel production by approximately 600,000 tonnes. The investment will contribute to reducing Türkiye’s dependence on diesel imports while increasing STAR Refinery’s production flexibility and energy efficiency.
STAR Refinery, SOCAR’s refinery in Türkiye and part of one of the world’s leading energy companies, is implementing the new Jet Fuel (Kero-Merox) Unit investment to increase its contribution to Türkiye’s fuel supply. As part of the investment, valued at approximately 6 billion Turkish Liras, an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract was signed with KT Kinetics, one of the world’s leading firms. Engineering, procurement and construction activities are expected to begin in the coming days, and the new unit is targeted to come onstream in the first quarter of 2029.
The new Jet Fuel (Kero-Merox) Unit is intended to bring a significant transformation to STAR Refinery’s production processes. By switching the existing KHT Unit, currently used for jet fuel production, to diesel production mode, the refinery aims to increase its annual diesel output by 600,000 tonnes. Once jet fuel production is transferred to the newly built facility, the existing KHT Unit may also be used again for jet fuel production, depending on market conditions. This will increase the refinery’s production flexibility while also contributing to energy efficiency.
“We aim to help reduce Türkiye’s dependence on diesel imports and its current account deficit”
Commenting on the strategic importance of the investment, Kanan Mirzayev, General Manager of Petkim and Head of SOCAR Türkiye’s Refinery and Petrochemicals Business Unit, said: “The new Jet Fuel Unit that we will implement at STAR Refinery is a strategic transformation investment that will increase our refinery’s production flexibility and energy efficiency. By transferring our jet fuel production to the new facility, we will create additional annual diesel production capacity of approximately 600,000 tonnes. We will further increase our flexibility to adjust jet fuel and diesel production in line with market conditions. With this investment of approximately 6 Billion Turkish Liras, we aim to help reduce Türkiye’s dependence on diesel imports and its current account deficit. With this investment, SOCAR’s total investments in Türkiye will reach approximately USD 20 billion. When STAR Refinery came onstream at the end of 2018, it was Türkiye’s third-largest refinery by refining capacity at a single site, with an annual refining capacity of 10 million tonnes. In recent years, our efforts have increased this capacity to more than 13 million tonnes per year, making our refinery the largest in Türkiye by refining capacity at a single site. This new investment will take our capabilities even further.”
The facility is scheduled to come onstream in the first quarter of 2029
The new Jet Fuel Unit investment is expected to enhance STAR Refinery’s production capabilities and increase its contribution to Türkiye’s fuel supply.
Occupational health and safety will be the top priority during the project’s construction and installation phases. The facility is planned to come onstream in the first quarter of 2029, following the safe completion of installation and construction work.