 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 | | |
|
|
| IOC plans to acquire chemical unit, set up refinery in Turkey news |
|
|
| 28 March 2007 |
|
| |
 Mumbai:
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country`s largest
oil company, has bid for majority stake in Turkey`s
state-run chemicals maker Petkim Petrokimya holdings.
The state-run oil major also plans to set up a 15 million
tonne refinery, at an estimated cost of $6 billion,
at Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea, in Turkey, official
sources said.
"We have put in an expression of interest (EoI)
for 53-54 per cent stake in Petkim," said IOC director
(planning and business development) B N Bansal.
The company may rope in Turkey`s Calik Group for making
a joint bid for Petkim, he said.
IOC, with a war chest of Rs43,000 crore, is scouting
for business opportunities both within and outside the
country. It is looking for investment opportunities
in Africa, Central Asian countries and the Middle East
and is interested in taking over a medium sized oil
producer, he said.
The company has previously made failed attempts to acquire
French firm Maurel & Prom and Canadian Niko resources.
Turkey invited bids for a majority stake in chemicals
maker Petkim worth at least $500 million on March 16.
Offers are due June 15.
Petkim produces raw material for a range of products
from plastic bags and textiles to polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) and detergents. It is the only producer of such
materials in Turkey, where imports account for about
70 per cent of the market. It exports about a quarter
of its output. If IOC wins the bid, it will hold 51
per cent stake in the refinery project. IOC is looking
at a partner which has access to oilfields in the Central
Asian region or Russia to service the refinery.
"We want to integrate the refinery with Petkim
(refinery products being feedstock in petrochemical
plant)," he said.
The refinery will also have Calik Energy of Turkey as
a partner.
IOC is also taking 12.5 per cent stake in Samsun-Ceyhan
pipeline, which would transport oil from Turkeys Black
Sea port of Samsun to Ceyhan on Mediterranean coast,
Bansal said, adding construction work on the project
will begin April-end.
The 350-mile, one million barrels per day line is being
developed by a joint venture between Italy`s Eni and
Turkey`s Calik Energy, called Trans-Anadolu Pipeline
Company (Tappco).
ENI holds an 18.5 per cent interest in the Kashagan
Oil Field in the Kazakh section of the Caspian Sea,
which would likely be a primary source for the Samsun-Ceyhan
Pipeline.
Bansal
said IOC, along with its partner for oilfield acquisition,
Oil India Ltd, are scouting for upstream exploration
and production opportunities in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
