Petkim’s 2013 Plans

For ten years Erdal Aksoy has been preparing his company to become a player in the energy sector and establishing partnerships with major companies. His goal of establishing an integrated energy business gathered pace with the acquisition of Petkim. Next up is making the company into a regional power with the support of Baku, Ceyhan. This won’t be enough. Aksoy says: “Let’s make Petkim into a production and logistics center, I mean a base.” He wants Socar to open up to Europe via Turkey. His dream includes European producers establishing advanced technology centers within the Petkim framework.

* You did not bid in the previous Petkim tenders. Why did you later decide to submit a bid?
If you cannot solve the problem of raw materials, which are the most important input in this kind of investment, then you cannot get anywhere. We have a very broad vision of where we want to go in energy. As a result, we targeted establishing a strong structure for ourselves in terms of raw materials. We chose the Azerbaijan state-owned company Socar for the raw materials. When we entered the tender we were completed convinced that we would acquire Petkim. And this is what happened.

* What exactly do you want to do at Petkim?
Petrochemical products are very valuable. There are even very valuable end products which are not being produced yet. We will go that far. While doing so, we need raw materials for Petkim. A refinery needs to be built for the raw materials. This refinery will use Azeri oil from Socar, process it and produce entirely by itself products such as naphtha which are currently imported brought from outside the country. There will be a major expansion in capacity. So we are determined to expand the project to such a size, and in such an integrated manner, that every part of it will be an integral part of the whole. Then it will be possible to compete on a global scale, without being crushed by and negative developments on the global markets.

* Where is all this taking Petkim?
Turkey has a growing economy and one which has to grow. As it grows, it will use its geographical advantages and export to neighboring companies, maybe to every corner of the world. You set a target of a Turkish economy of $500 million. If you want to keep the repercussions of a $500 billion economy inside the country, then you must have a petrochemicals infrastructure. If not, then you are only assembling products made by someone else; and you can’t get anywhere by serving as someone else’s drudge. We want to make the pieces that are being brought here for assembly. In order to do this, a petrochemicals infrastructure was needed.

* If you achieve all of the goals you have outlined, how big will Petkim become?
Turkey has a petrochemicals capacity of 6 million tons. Petkim produces less than 2 million tons of this. 75 percent of it is imported. The forecast is that, as Turkey continues to grow, this 6 million tons will become 15 million tons by 2015. Our target is produce at least 6 million of these 15 million tons. This means tripling our current capacity by 2015 and our products securing a 40 percent market share; with 10-15 percent coming either from the products we produce in Baku or from our foreign agreements. We are actually aiming to reach this level of capacity by 2013. Once all of these things have been achieved, Petkim will become a really powerful regional power.

Ebru Fırat
efirat@capital.com.tr