On May 20, an agreement on construction of the Star refinery was signed at Chiraghan Hotel in Turkey.
The document was signed by head of SOCAR Investments Division and Petkim’s Chairman of Board Vagif Aliyev, Chief Executive Officer at SOCAR Turkey Kenan Yavuz, the Secretary General of the Spanish company Tecnicas Reunidas Jose Pedro Sebastian De Erice, Executive Director of Business Development Enrique Alsina Massan and by the representatives of Saipem, GS Engineering and Itochu. Vagif Aliyev stressed that

the groundbreaking ceremony of the STAR Refinery, held on 25 October 2011 with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, came to a very important stage. According to him, STAP Refinery, refinery, petrochemical, energy, logistics projects with Petkim, as well as TANAP pipeline will contribute to the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Turkey. CEO of the Spanish Tecnicas Reunidas Juan Llado said that despite the global economic crisis, huge investments in STAR Refinery are continued. He expressed confidence in successful completion of construction works. SOCAR Turkey CEO Kenan Yavuz said that operations of the Refinery, the most important step in refinery-petrochemistry-energy-logistics integration, were anticipated to start within 51 months after the said signatures affixed. With 10 million tons/year capacity, STAR refinery will handle oil types such as Ural, Azeri Light and Kirkuk. The project will be conducted in full compliance with the highest European standards.

See the site of STAR refinery