SOCAR to invest $120 mln in new jet fuel unit at Turkish refinery
BAKU. Nov 9 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) plans to invest approximately 6 billion Turkish liras or about $120 million in a new jet fuel production unit at the STAR oil refinery in Turkey, Turkey's Enerji Ekonomisi reports, citing SOCAR Turkiye.
"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, head of the SOCAR Turkiye Refining & Petrochemical Business Unit and CEO of the Turkish company Petkim Petrokimya Holding, was quoted as saying.
The project will improve the refinery's operational flexibility and energy efficiency, while reducing Turkey's exposure to diesel fuel imports.
The STAR refinery's KHT unit, currently used for jet fuel production, will be repurposed for diesel production once the new Jet Fuel (Kero-Merox) unit is commissioned. Depending on market conditions, the KHT unit will revert to producing jet fuel if necessary.
"An EPC contract has been signed with a consortium of international companies for the project. Design, procurement, and construction work is set to begin in the coming days, with the new Jet Fuel (Kero-Merox) unit scheduled for commissioning in the first quarter of 2029," the report says.
Mirzayev also said that the new project would push SOCAR's total investment in Turkey to $20 billion.
He said the 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.
According to Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) data, the STAR refinery boosted diesel production 31% to 6.764 million tonnes in 2025. Turkey's total diesel production rose 7.4% to 16.895 million tonnes while its diesel imports fell 0.21% to 13.64 million tonnes.
The SOCAR Turkiye Refining & Petrochemical Business Unit comprises the STAR refinery, the Petkim petrochemical holding company, the SOCAR Ticaret trading division, the SOCAR Depolama storage division, handling petroleum products and liquefied gas, and Petkim RES, responsible for wind power plant operations.
The STAR refinery was commissioned on October 19, 2018, and was originally designed to process crude oil grades such as Azeri Light, Kerkuk and Urals. The refinery is currently capable of processing over 20 types of crude oil, although heavy crudes are the most suitable for it.
SOCAR invested approximately $7 billion in the construction of the STAR refinery.
