SOCAR & TURCAS Rafineri award Fluor a PMC contract for new refinery in Turkey

28-Dec-10

SOCAR & TURCAS Rafineri A.S. (STRAS), the joint venture of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and TURCAS Petrol A.S. (ISE:TRCAS), has awarded Fluor Corporation a project management consultant (PMC) contract for a new refinery to be built in Aliaga, Turkey. The new planned refinery will be integrated at the Petkim petrochemicals site on the Aegean coast. As PMC for the SOCAR & TURCAS Aegean Refinery (STAR) project, Fluor will assist STRAS in selecting and managing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor(s) and provide overall project and construction management. Fluor has begun the work and will book the undisclosed contract value in the fourth quarter of 2010. This new refinery project award in the downstream oil and gas market in Turkey is a precedent-setting milestone,” said Peter Oosterveer, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals Group. “As Turkey’s economy continues to grow, and building upon our strong resume in Europe, we believe this key project positions us well for the future both in Turkey and in nearby Asia.” “Fluor’s global footprint, coupled with our talented resources from our Haarlem, Madrid and Houston offices, positioned us well for this important new refinery project,” said David Zelinski, senior vice president of downstream in Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals Group. “As a leading integrated refining and petrochemicals company, the SOCAR & TURCAS team is an extremely important player in the region and we are excited to provide them value throughout the project duration.” “We are progressing with the project with the utmost speed,” said Erdal Aksoy, SOCAR & TURCAS vice chairman. “The FEED is about to be completed and we are definitely convinced that Fluor brings added value to the project, especially now that we are entering the most crucial phases of EPC selection and then construction. The STAR refinery should significantly contribute to the growth of the Turkish economy while meeting the diesel deficit in the nation.” Project work is underway with the start of site preparation and EPC work estimated to be in mid-2011 and construction start-up some time in the first quarter of 2012. For this phase of the project, Fluor estimates that about 100 professionals will be engaged at peak.