Turkish refiner Tupras expects its new $390 million desulphurisation unit to raise its refining margins, chief executive officer Yavuz Erkut said.

Turnover was growing more than forecast due to rising oil prices, but he said more important was growth in the refining margin, the difference in value between what refineries produce and the crude oil used to produce them.
“Units like this support our refining margin. While the refining margin in the Mediterranean is $5-6 a barrel, with investments like this you can increase it by an average $1-1.5,” Erkut said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to launch operations of the diesel desulphurisation and reformer unit in the western Turkish city of Izmit.
Erkut said the company would give specific information soon on a feasibility study about converting its fuel oil production facilities into diesel-producing facilities, which were enjoying growing demand.
He said the investment in transforming fuel oil facilities was equivalent to that needed for a new refinery.
When the investment is completed, the Izmit plant would produce two billion tonnes of diesel annually, rather than three billion tonnes of fuel oil which it currently produces.
This production would not begin for another four or five years, he said. “This project will strengthen Tupras’ position nationally and internationally,” he said.
Tupras was privatised in 2005 and, despite a legal battle, was taken over in 2006 by Koc Holding, with Royal Dutch Shell holding a small stake.