BP, SOCAR May Partner To Launch Petrochemical Plant In Turkey

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) may be partnering with the UK’s BP to help Turkey launch its first purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production facility, which is expected to go online by 2023.

A deal was signed last week to explore the feasibility of the joint venture and the project in Turkey. Luis Sierra, who leads the Global Aromatics Business Unit at BP, says that the capabilities of BP and SOCAR could be leveraged to benefit what is a growing economy in the Middle East.

“If taken forward, this would be the largest integrated PTA, PX and aromatics complex in the Western Hemisphere and BP’s first major new aromatics platform since our Zhuhai site in China opened nearly 20 years ago,” BP’s official website cited Sierra as saying.

“The combination of BP’s leading proprietary technology and integration with SOCAR’s new refinery could create an outstanding platform to serve Turkey’s growing polyester packaging and textiles industry.”

PTA is an essential ingredient for making synthetic fibers such as polyester, which is used in packaging materials for food, beverage and other containers; clothing and fabric, to films. Earlier this year BP announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with SOCAR Turkey for BP’s latest generation of PTA technology. The technology proposed by BP has significantly lower capital and operating costs when compared with other PTA technologies. It is reportedly more energy efficient, uses less water and produces less solid waste than similar technologies on the market.

“This proposed new investment is a win-win situation for both SOCAR and Turkey. It will not only increase our share in Turkey’s petrochemical markets, but it will also help to reduce Turkey’s imports of these products, hence reducing the foreign trade deficit,” said Zaur Gahramanov, who leads SOCAR Turkey.

The facility is expected to manufacture 1.25 million tons of PTA, 840,000 tons of paraxylene and 340,000 tons of benzene per year. The facility would be located at SOCAR Turkey’s Private Industrial Zone in Aliaga, in western Turkey.

Energy officials say that the plant would help integrate the feedstock supplies from the nearby new STAR refinery and Petkim petrochemicals complex, both owned by SOCAR Turkey.

“The immediate proximity to the feedstock and infrastructure provided by SOCAR’s other facilities will contribute significantly to the competitive power of the new facility,” Vagif Aliyev, who is chairman of the board at SOCAR Turkey and Petkim, said on December 20.

SOCAR has been active in Turkey since 2008 when it bought a $2 billion stake in Petkim Holding petrochemical plant. Since then, SOCAR has launched in Turkey other large projects including STAR refinery, TANAP, Petlim Container Terminal and Petkim Wind Power Station.

BP and SOCAR have been partnering since 1992, when BP opened its first office in Baku. According to BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Gary Jones, eight of the 10 most productive BP wells globally are in the Caspian. These projects include the joint development of two giant hydrocarbons fields:  the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil and the Shah Deniz (SD) gas fields located underneath the Caspian Sea.

The facility in Turkey would be the first joint project between BP and SOCAR outside of Azerbaijan.