Petkim's net profit hits $76.5 mln

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

Net profit of Turkish Petkim Petrochemical Complex amounted to 232 million liras ($76.58 million) in the first six months of 2015.

This was announced during a visit of President of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev, vice-presidents of the company Suleyman Gasimov, Elshad Nasirov and Badal Badalov, Head of SOCAR's Investment Department and Member of the Board of SOCAR Turkey Vagif Aliyev to Petkim peninsula, SOCAR reported on September 8.

SOCAR officials got acquainted with the progress of implementation of the investment project in the Petkim peninsula in Turkey.

They familiarized with presentations on Star refinery, the construction of which is completed by 30 percent, on the Petlim port, the first phase of which will be completed in October 2015, as well as the Petkim complex.

Abdullayev positively appreciated the financial performance of Petkim in the reported period.

He said that works on the construction of the Star refinery are underway in accordance with the schedule, and expressed confidence that exploitation of the Petlim port will start in the near future.

SOCAR officials also participated in the ceremony of laying the foundation of the laboratory under the Star refinery, as well as inspected the 300-meter breakwater and 700-meter ferry.

Petkim Petrochemical Complex, which includes 15 major factories and seven auxiliary units, manufactures plastic packages, fabrics, PVC, and detergents, and is the only Turkish producer of such products.

A quarter of Petkim's products are exported to foreign markets.

Petlim container port, which is believed to become the third largest port in Turkey and the largest one in the Aegean Sea, will be able to receive the largest container ships carrying up to 11,000 containers. Some $400 million was invested in the construction of the port, some $300 million of which was invested by Petkim.

The initial capacity of the port will be 1.5 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), which will be increased to four million TEU in the future. Its capacity will exceed the capacity of Aslandzhak port by about 50 percent.

The Dutch company APM Terminals, one of the world's leading port operators, will enjoy the right to manage the port for 28 years while the port will belong to Turkey.

Once completed, the Star refinery will be the first refinery to start operations in Turkey since 1972. This project will process an estimated 10 million tons of crude oil per year and is expected to dramatically reduce Turkey’s dependence on foreign energy imports.

Star refinery will be capable of refining Azeri Light, Kirkuk, and Urals oil grades. The refinery is mostly intended to create a resource base for Petkim Holding.

The annual naphtha production volume used by Petkim as the main raw material, will hit 1.66 million metric tons at the Star refinery.