Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company SOCAR and the British oil giant BP have decided to delay the final investment decision (FID) on the construction of the Mercury petrochemical complex in Aliaga, Izmir, Turkey, according to a Turkish media report. SOCAR Turkey CEO Zaur Gahramanov cited low oil prices as the reason for the delay.
As SSESSMENTS.COM noted, SOCAR and BP initially expected to make the FID and start the construction of the project by the end of 2020. However, the FID is now postponed until the end of 2021. Before the delay, they planned to start the plant’s operation in 2023-2025. The 50/50 joint venture project will be able to produce up to 340,00 tons/year of benzene, 840,000 tons/year of paraxylene, and 1.25 million tons/year of purified terephthalic acid.
