Türkiye’s first oil refinery, Batman Refinery, which can be considered as the foundation of Tüpraş, began operating in 1955. İzmit Refinery, with production capacity of 1 million metric tons per year, was commissioned six years later. With time, the İzmit facility needed to expand. The refinery's crude oil processing capacity quintupled in 10 years. The next year, a new refinery, capable of processing 3 million metric tons of crude oil per year, was commissioned in İzmir. In 1974, in the İzmir Refinery, Türkiye’s only mineral oil production facility to this day commenced operations. The efforts were going ahead at full steam, and projects were being proposed to increase the refineries' capacity. The İzmit Refinery needed to be re-expanded. The work was completed in 1982, and the crude oil processing capacity of the refinery rose to 11.5 million metric tons per year. These milestones were followed by consolidating İPRAŞ and the three refineries under Tüpraş in 1983. A few years later, Kırıkkale Refinery, which can process 5 million metric tons per year, was commissioned. The following year, crude oil processing capacity expansion efforts brought the annual capacity of the İzmir Refinery to 10 million metric tons. Long-term Investment Plan studies began several years later.
In the early 90s, Tüpraş was transferred to the Directorate of Privatization Administration. In 1991, 2.5 percent of Tüpraş’s shares were publicly offered, and the company was quoted on the Istanbul Securities Exchange for the first time. This was followed by the commissioning of Kırıkkale Hydrocracker Facility in 1993 and the opening of İzmit Hydrocracker and CCR complexes in 1997. In 1998, the company implemented the Automated Pricing Mechanism, which was expected to increase profitability. The ratio of publicly offered shares reached 3.5 percent in the late 90s, and 34 percent of Tüpraş's shares began to be traded on the Istanbul and London Stock Exchanges with the second public offering in 2000. Maintaining its investment activities, Tüpraş acquired Petkim Yarımca Complex in 2001, launched its İzmit Isomerization Unit in 2002, started its Supply Option Study in 2003, and completed the quality and environment certification processes of its refineries in 2004. A new page opened in a 50-year history that began in Batman as the company grew its publicly offered shares to 49 percent in 2005. The shares were transferred to the Koç Holding a year later.
Acquisition by Koç Holding expedited the company’s efforts and investments. CCR Reformer and Diesel Desulphurization Units were established in the İzmit Refinery in 2007 and in the Kırıkkale Refinery in 2008. Investments in gasoline spec improvements at the İzmit Refinery began in 2009. Tüpraş’s R&D Center was opened in 2010. A loan agreement for the Fuel Oil Conversion Facility was signed in 2011, and in 2012, the company sold $700 million of Eurobonds with a 5.5-year maturity date.
In 2014, proudly embracing the responsibility coming from being the seventh largest refinery company in Europe and the 28th in the world, Tüpraş crowned its achievements with the Fuel Oil Conversion Facility, the biggest industrial investment of the country. As the biggest single industrial investment in the history of the Turkish Republic, Tüpraş facilities continued to add more value to Türkiye and its investors.
T. Aylin Tanker was launched the same year and embarked on its maiden voyage the next. The Effluent Treatment Plant was commissioned in 2016 for the reclaiming of the effluent discharge of the ISU Bay Effluent Facility and its reuse at the İzmit Refinery for industrial purposes.
In the following year, Tüpraş became the first private railway operation company by establishing Körfez Ulaştırma A.Ş. This was followed by the 7000 Crude Oil Unit Modernization Project at the İzmir Refinery. The company opened to the world in 2018 thanks to the Trade Office in London. In 2019, Tüpraş was chosen as the “Most Successful Turkish Industrial Firm” by the Horizon 2020, the EU’s R&D and innovation program. Bringing Tüpraş products to more than 50 customers from 15 countries across four continents, the London Trade Office became a Tüpraş subsidiary as Tüpraş Trading Ltd. in 2020.
By the end of 2021, Turkish energy industry leader Tüpraş shared its plans to invest in new areas that promote sustainability and to manage its current assets with an approach that focuses on sustainable and profit-based growth as part of its Strategic Transition Plan, set out with the aim of leading the energy industry of the future.
Tüpraş’s strategic transition journey aims to become carbon-neutral by 2050 with the “Energy to the Future” motto. This transformation is fueled by enhancing the efficiency of current operations, investing in products with added value, and supporting new investments in green hydrogen, electricity, and biofuels. Tüpraş is one of the supporting institutions of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. It is also a member of the leading stakeholder in the hydrogen market, Hydrogen Europe, and Europe’s water platform, Water Europe. Furthermore, the company researches production of sustainable jet fuel from raw materials based on plant and animal waste. It has taken firm steps towards its goal of 1 GW of installed energy capacity by 2030, and 2.5 GW by 2035, thanks to the recently acquired Entek.
It continues to work resolutely with an eye on its responsibility toward future generations. As a signatory to the United Nations Women Empowerment Principles (UN WEPs), the company was featured in Bloomberg’s Global Equality Index (GEI) and is a party to the Global Compact thanks to its efforts for gender equality throughout its production sites and offices and in every platform.
Tüpraş was chosen to be one of 50 "Companies to Watch" in 2022 by Bloomberg Intelligence, Bloomberg's independent research initiative. As the seventh largest refinery company in Europe and 30th in the world, the company continues to meet Türkiye’s energy demands and bring sustainable value to its stakeholders and the economy.
Türkiye's leading industrial company, Tüpraş continues to strive for tomorrow's energy and tomorrow's Tüpraş.
