Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TUPRAS) will modernize its Izmir refinery in western Turkey with a $72.2 million (220 million Turkish liras) of investment, according to a report.
TUPRAS recently presented an environmental impact assessment (CED) report to Turkey's Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning for its modernization plan. Out of the total investment, $9.42 million (28.7 million Turkish liras) will be spent to import the necessary machinery and equipment.
TUPRAS plans to increase its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) processing capacity to 567,989 tonnes per year, and its petroleum refining capacity to 1,777,057 tonnes a year.
Meanwhile, refining capacities for jet fuel and naphtha are planned to reach 1,466,954 and 500,454 tonnes annually, respectively.
In addition, diesel refining capacity is expected to reach 3,381,998 tonnes per year, fuel oil capacity will rise to 2,459,598 tonnes a year, and other refined products' capacity will increase to 1,976,319 tonnes annually,
The total processing capacity of the facility is forecast to have a 10 percent increase in capacity, to 12,130,369 tonnes a year, from approximately 11 million tonnes per year, after completion of the modernization.
Turkey's Ministry of Economy also informed that TUPRAS' modernization plan is evaluated under the scope of investment subsidies. Thus, the total investment will benefit from tax deductions, exemptions, and other incentive mechanisms.
TUPRAS operates four oil refineries in Turkey with a total annual processing capacity of 28.1 million tonnes. In addition to its Izmir refinery in western Turkey, the private-owned corporation has refineries in Izmit, Kirikkale and Batman.
In 2014, a total of 20 million tonnes of crude oil was processed in those four refineries.
In the last 9 years, the company spent a total of $5.2 billion in investments.
Reporting by Goksel Yildirim
Writing by Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr