Turkey opens $3bn fuel-oil recycling facility at Izmit refinery

Turkey’s only oil refiner Turkish Petroleum Refineries has opened a $3bn fuel-oil recycling facility in Izmit refinery, which will help boost capacity of high value added products.

The facility will generate white products such as diesel, fuel-oil, jet fuel and liquid petroleum gas.

This resid upgrading project is expected to cut down the country’s budget deficit by $1bn, reports World Bulletin.

Turkish Petroleum Refineries (TUPRAS) board head Omer Koc was quoted by World Bulletin as saying: "We invested $5.2 billion in the refinery sector during the last nine years."

The new facility is claimed to have a high conversion ratio.

Koc added that the refinery will help TUPRAS become a competitive refining company in the Mediterranean region.

The recycling facility can convert 4.2 million tons of low value added products to approximately 3.5 million tons of white products and 700,000 tons of petroleum coke.

TUPRAS CEO Yavuz Erkut added: "The company aims to process 28 million tons of crude oil in the newly-opened facility in 2015."

"With the new facility, TUPRAS will double diesel production reaching 10 to 11 million tons annually. There will be 25-30 percent increase in jet fuel and gasoline production whereas fuel oil production will decrease by 90 percent."

The facility will help the refinery to compete with more than 50 refineries in the Mediterranean regions and approximately 20 refineries in Black Sea region.

Image: Izmit refinery. Photo: Courtesy of TUPRAS.