Team size: Three

Major legal advisers: Kılınç Law and Consulting

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

SOCAR Türkiye Petrol Ticaret has recently engaged in several operations. The legal department has assumed a pivotal role in assisting in the company’s joint ventures, corporate transactions, and litigations. Being the group legal coordinator, I lead the function of the team and strengthen their knowledge of the industry, given my extensive experience in the oil sector. We are responsible for processing contracts, legal documents, and legal issues. We work in a dynamic environment where the legal team and business partners work together, mixing different perspectives, backgrounds, and skills to achieve common goals. The biggest challenge that has impacted our team has certainly been the pandemic. After the first moment of uncertainty, we quickly adapted to remote working and efficiently carried on with our work. We were able to provide stakeholders and business partners with our services. Additionally, the legal department has also supported digitalisation by introducing technological contract management devices and the adoption of digital signatures.

What are the biggest risks facing your industry and how are you preparing your team and company for this?

The most significant risk facing our industry is undoubtedly oil price fluctuations globally. Adverse global oil market conditions can affect consumer spending, resulting in decreased demand and impacting the continuity of our activities. We were able to maintain our profitability and successfully reach our targets thanks to adopting legal measures to monitor the market closely. Our slogan, “stronger together,” suggests our goals to be at the heart of the Turkish energy sector, overcoming and mitigating all the possible risks that could affect our company while promoting its growth.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected the company and the team’s priorities?

Climate change and sustainability are our core priorities. We have implemented a series of measures across our company to manage the environmental impact of our operations — a significant part of the energy we use in our processes is produced by our wind power plant. Our ESG score is among the highest in the industry. The implementation of new technologies and digitalisation of our operations has significantly helped in minimising our footprint. While we prioritise the regions in which we operate, we also provide support to other areas directly and through non-governmental organisations. The legal team supports investments projects and sponsorship processes to proceed with our social responsibility agenda.