Invest News DetailHurriyet - Türkiye’s leading petrochemical company Petkim prepares to break ground for its USD 5 billion oil refinery to be built in the Aegean province of Izmir. The biggest single-location investment project undertaken by the private sector in Türkiye to date, the refinery will reduce Türkiye’s dependency on imports of many petroleum derivatives, saving billions of dollars. “The refinery’s construction is scheduled to start in October..”, Kenan Yavuz, Socar&Turcas CEO and Petkim Executive Board Member said about the upcoming investment. “Slated to be operational by 2015, the Ege Refinery will provide naphtha, a key ingredient in Petkim’s wide range of petrochemical products, as well as other petroleum products like jet fuel, low-sulfur diesel and LPG, for all of which Türkiye depends on foreign suppliers, Yavuz told reporters. Petkim’s new refinery will save billions of dollars by reducing the imports of such materials, he added. The refinery and its related facilities will directly or indirectly provide jobs for 10,000 people. Set up as a state owned and operated company in 1965, Petkim is the foremost name when it comes to petrochemicals in Türkiye. Socar&Turcas acquired 51 percent stakes in Petkim in 2008. 10.32 percent of the company’s shares are under state control while the rest is publicly traded.