STAR refinery to be inaugurated in January

Baku. 2 October. REPORT.AZ/ The STAR oil refinery of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan built in Aliaga area in Izmir, Turkey, will be inaugurated in January of 2019, SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş Director General Zaur Gahramanov told Anadolu Agency.

According to Report, he said that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony.

Gahramanov noted that $300 million has been invested in expansion of a reservoir purchased in Aliaga a few years ago for a more effective operation of the refinery: "Moreover, reservoirs in Antalya and Marmaris are also searched for. They are needed for more reliable supplies of the refinery's production."

Notably, the foundation of the STAR refinery was laid by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 25, 2011.

The refining capacity of the plant will make 10 mln tons of crude oil a year. STAR will receive the first document on encouragement of strategic investments in Turkey. The facility will produce 1.6 mln tons of naftha, 5 mln tons of diesel, 1.6 mln tons of jet fuel, 300,000 tons of LPG, 160,000 tons of serum and other production.

The first 80,000 tons of AzeriLight crude oil were delivered to the STAR refinery by Absheron tanker in August of this year. In preparation for the commissioning the plant refines oil in the test mode.