The International Finance
Corporation (IFC) granted a seven-year loan of approximately $100 million to
Turkey’s oil refiner and largest industrial company, Tupras, IFC announced on
Wednesday.
IFC, a member of the World
Bank group, granted the Ioan to support Tupras' investment plans for
environmental upgrades, improvements in efficiency, and research and
development activities, IFC said in the press release.
The corporation, one of the
world’s largest investors in renewable energy, is working with companies to
produce cleaner energy solutions with investments now totaling more than $1
billion annually and growing at a 20 percent rate.
According to the press
release, with IFC’s investment, Tupras will install new sulfur recovery units
in refineries in Izmit, Izmir and Kirikkale to optimize its crude oil
processing capability and improve sulfur emissions.
The IFC proclaimed the new
investments would include an increase in the capacity of the continuous
catalyst regeneration platform in the Izmir refinery to increase Tupras’ global
competitiveness by allowing the company to produce more value-added products
using the same feedstock.
"Tupras is constantly
investing in best available technologies to provide its customers with
sustainable solutions for their fuel needs. With additional sulfur recovery
units, we will be ready to support the maritime industry in their efforts to
change into low sulfur marine fuel before the regulation change planned for
2020. It is good to have IFC partnering us in this effort, providing us the
long-term financing for this good cause and enable us to follow high
environmental standards.” Tupras CFO Dogan Korkmaz said in the press release.
"The commitment of large
industrial companies, such as Tupras, to sustainable practices and resource
efficiency is very important to encourage others. This financing will allow
Tupras to boost its existing modernization and invest in R&D to move up the
value chain, while adopting high environmental standards,” Carsten Muller, IFC
director of manufacturing, agribusiness and services in Europe, the Middle East
and North Africa said in the press release.
The investment will support
Tupras to ensure value added, resource-efficient local refining capacity for
Turkey, where demand for refined products has grown above 2.5 percent per year
over the last 20 years, the press release said.
(Anadolu Agency
, October, 4, 2017)