Developments in oil refining.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) will shake up the refining sector and petroleum products market later this year, when the SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR) is commissioned, Turkey’s fifth refinery and its first new one for three decades. With demand for products set to continue rising and flows of Iraqi crude to increase as Baghdad re-exerts control over its northern oilfields and export pipeline, two more refineries are planned, which could further reduce Turkish dependence on product imports.
Corporate plans to expand refining chime with the political thaw in relations between Turkey and Iraq.
STAR will refine heavy regional rather than light Azeri crudes -- the product mix includes petcoke, in great demand for cement manufacture.
Tupras has huge volumes of petrol to export, mainly to the United States, because the tax regime inclines domestic drivers to use diesel.
The preference for diesel over petrol is affecting air quality in Turkey’s cities.
