Israeli firm may invest in Turkey
Posted by meb at May 14th, 2008
Oil Refineries Ltd., Israel’s biggest petroleum refiner, plans to make acquisitions in Turkey and elsewhere after its sale by the government last year opens up opportunities, Chief Executive Officer Yashar Ben Mordechai said.
Oil Refineries is seeking a small refinery or a stake in a larger one, and is looking for purchases in the retail gasoline business in Cyprus, Italy or Turkey, Ben Mordechai said in an interview in Tel Aviv. The company is “primarily” looking at the Mediterranean region, and it wouldn’t rule out refining “opportunities” in the U.S., he said.
Oil Refineries sells about a third of its oil to countries around the Mediterranean and plans to spend $1.1 billion over the next five years on projects such as adding more profitable products and expanding the petrochemicals unit. The Haifa-based former state-owned company was bought by a group led by Israel Corp. as part of its initial public offering in February 2007.
Bazan, as the company is known by its Hebrew acronym, has a capacity of 180,000 barrels a day, making it one of the Mediterranean basin’s biggest refiners. Paz Oil Co. is Israel’s only other oil refiner. Higher crude prices helped Oil Refineries double its profit, excluding some items, in the fourth quarter.“We are looking into increasing our refining capacity overseas, as well as downstream and upstream parts of the business,” said Ben Mordechai, who has been with the company for three decades, including eight years as CEO. The best candidate may be a refinery that needs investment and could be upgraded using Oil Refineries’ engineering skills, he said.
source: Turkish Daily News
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