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)
