What Star Rafineri does

Star Rafineri A.Ş. operates a 13 million ton-per-year crude oil refinery in Aliğa, İzmir, Turkey, supplying roughly 18–19.5% of Türkiye's processed petroleum product needs and producing LPG, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, reformate, petroleum coke, and sulfur. It is the only Turkish company with full refinery–petrochemical integration, co-located with Petkim (in which it holds a 12% indirect stake) so that low-value streams from the petrochemical complex can be upgraded into higher-value fuels and feedstocks — almost all of Petkim's naphtha demand is met internally. Founded in 2011 as part of SOCAR Türkiye, the asset represents a $6.7 billion capital investment (Turkey's largest single-point real-sector investment), commenced operations in 2018, and was recognized in 2021 as the first refinery globally to join the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network for advanced Industry 4.0 deployment. It also operates a 2.68 million m² port with seven modern quays providing crude oil, chemical, LPG tanker handling, MARPOL-compliant waste reception, and freshwater supply to third-party shipping.

Revenue is generated through B2B bulk sales of refined petroleum products and petrochemical feedstocks directly to industrial customers via a customer portal (cportal.socar.com.tr) and direct enterprise sales, supplemented by port services. Pricing is quote-based on multi-year frameworks with no public disclosure; products are sold transactionally at industrial volume. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting Turkish industrial offtakers, with Petkim as the primary anchor customer for naphtha and export activity recognized via the Turkish Exporters Assembly 'Export Star' award. The business operates with a workforce of approximately 1,255 employees concentrated at the Aliğa site, supported by an integrated Industry 4.0 stack covering SmartSignal predictive fault detection, Robotic Process Automation, digital assistants, and an internal Citizen Developer program.

The commercial model is structurally tied to the SOCAR Türkiye group: Star Rafineri is wholly owned by SOCAR Türkiye (with Petkim as a 12% indirect minority), integration economics depend on Petkim's offtake, and corporate communications, customer relations, and even regulatory reporting are channeled through SOCAR Türkiye functions. The business carries Turkey's first Strategic Investment Incentive Certificate, operates within a designated Special Industrial Zone, and holds a complete ISO certification stack (9001, 14001, 45001, 50001, 27001, 22301, 55001, 17025) plus ISPS port security and Zero Waste certification, indicating a regulatory and ESG framework aimed at long-duration, incentivized operations rather than rapid scale-up.

Name

Star Rafineri

Legal name

STAR RAFİNERİ ANONİM ŞİRKETİ

Website

https://starrafineri.com.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Star Rafineri operates a 13 million ton-per-year oil refinery in Aliğa, İzmir, serving Turkey's industrial sector with diesel, jet fuel, LPG, naphtha, reformate, sulfur, and petroleum coke, while supplying nearly all of co-located petrochemical producer Petkim's naphtha demand through refinery–petrochemical integration owned by SOCAR Türkiye.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oil Refining and Petrochemicals

NAICS

Petroleum Refineries (324110), Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (324)

SIC

Petroleum Refining (2911), Wholesale-Petroleum Bulk Stations & Terminals (5171)

akta.pro primary industry

Refinery Offsites, Storage & Loading (Tankage, Truck/Rail/Marine Loading) (EUALAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refinery Blending & Product Quality Control (Gasoline/Diesel/Jet Blending, Additives) (EUALAGAJ), Refined Products Tank Farms & Terminals (TLAGAKAB), Crude Oil & Condensate Terminals (Tank Farms, Marine/Truck/Rail Loading) (EUALAEAA)

Keywords

• Oil refining services
• Petroleum products
• Crude oil processing
• Refined fuels distribution
• Petrochemical feedstock

Headquarters

HQ city

Aliaga

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Petroleum Products Sales: Sale of refined petroleum products including diesel, jet fuel, LPG, naphtha, reformate, petroleum coke, and sulfur. The refinery meets approximately 18-25% of Turkey's processed petroleum product needs.
2. Petrochemical Raw Material Supply: Primary raw material supplier to Petkim, Turkey's leading petrochemical producer. Supplies naphtha and reformate for petrochemical production.
3. Port Operations Services: Provides port services including loading/unloading operations for crude oil, chemical and petroleum product tankers, and liquefied gas tankers; waste reception services; freshwater supply

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Star Rafineri operates an integrated oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Aliaga, Izmir, Turkey, processing crude oil into refined petroleum products including LPG, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, reformate, petroleum coke, and sulfur. The facility has a crude oil processing capacity of 13 million tons per year and provides port and storage services through its 1.9 million cubic meter storage capacity.

Product overview

STAR Rafineri operates as Turkey's only company with refinery-petrochemical integration, processing various types of crude oil at its Aliaga, Izmir facility. The company produces a comprehensive product portfolio including LPG, Diesel (Motorin/ULSD), Jet Fuel, Reformate, Naphtha, Petroleum Coke, and Sulfur. Through its integrated Petkim structure, STAR Refinery supplies critical petrochemical feedstocks (naphtha and reformate) to Petkim while meeting approximately 18-25% of Turkey's processed petroleum product needs. The refinery operates its own port facility with 7 modern quays handling crude oil, refined products, and petrochemical materials, providing integrated logistics including waste reception and freshwater supply services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
• Diesel
• Jet Fuel
• Reformate
• Naphtha
• Petroleum Coke
• Sulfur
• Port and Storage Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Meets ~18% of Turkey's processed petroleum product needs
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Dokuz Eylül UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for seagrass protection research and marine biodiversity monitoring studies at the port location. Conducted pioneering study on Posidonia Oceanica protection with periodic censuses.
• Aegean Forest Foundation (Ege Orman Vakfı)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfforestation partnership for environmental sustainability. Planted 14,150 young trees in Aliaga Güzelhisar in 2021, including 13,150 Blue and Black Cypress and 1,000 Acacia trees.
• UN Global CompactminorOthersSOCAR Türkiye holds membership in the UN Global Compact, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Business and Sustainable Development CouncilminorOthersSOCAR Türkiye holds membership in the Business and Sustainable Development Council for sustainability alignment.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Saras S.p.A. Italian refiner operating the Sarroch refinery in Sardinia with ~15 million tons/year capacity. Comparable as a medium-scale Mediterranean refiner focused on European and Mediterranean markets, producing transportation fuels and specialty products.
• MOL Group: Hungarian-headquartered integrated oil and gas group operating refineries in Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia with combined capacity ~18 million tons/year. Comparable mid-cap integrated downstream player serving Central/Southeastern European industrial markets with similar B2B product focus.
• PKN Orlen: Polish integrated energy group operating ~16 million tons/year refining capacity in Central Europe following merger with Grupa Lotos and PGNiG. Comparable as a regional integrated refiner with petrochemical operations and similar B2B customer segments across transportation and industrial sectors.

Broad incumbents

• TotalEnergies (Refining & Chemicals): Global integrated energy major operating refineries in France, Belgium, and the Middle East with combined capacity exceeding 30 million tons/year. Comparable as a large incumbent with refinery-petrochemical integration, advanced digital operations, and products serving European/Mediterranean industrial customers.
• Phillips 66: US-based integrated downstream and midstream operator with ~14 million tons/year refining capacity across major US and European refineries. Comparable large incumbent operating complex refineries producing transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks with similar regulatory and margin exposure.
• Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC): Kuwait's national oil company operating Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries with ~32 million tons/year combined capacity. Comparable national oil major with full value chain integration and significant European refining footprint via KPC subsidiaries.
• SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic): Star Rafineri's parent company and Azerbaijan's national oil company, operating the Heydar Aliyev refinery in Baku and global trading operations. Comparable as a national oil major with full upstream-downstream integration and similar refining-petrochemical integration philosophies.

Direct peers

• Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE): Greece's largest refining group operating three refineries with ~17 million tons/year total capacity. Comparable regional refiner serving Southeastern European markets with similar product slate and B2B customer mix including airlines, shipping, and industrial users.
• Tupras: Turkey's largest refiner with ~28 million tons/year crude processing capacity across four refineries. Star Rafineri's primary domestic competitor, similarly producing diesel, jet fuel, LPG, and naphtha for the Turkish market, with overlapping industrial customer base in petrochemicals.
• Motor Oil Hellas: Greek integrated petroleum refiner with ~17.5 million tons/year capacity producing fuels, lubricants, and petrochemical feedstocks. Comparable as a mid-size Mediterranean refiner serving regional industrial markets with similar B2B sales model and crude flexibility.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/starrafineri
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/star-rafineri/?viewAsMember=true

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Star Rafineri