When Zehra Zeynep Dereli—granddaughter of Aydın Bolak, the founder of TÜRK Petrol, and daughter of Varol Dereli, one of the business figures who has served on the board of TÜSİAD—visited our newspaper in her capacity as General Manager of ODAŞ CA, she reflected on years past:
• “I had seen you years ago at an event hosted by my grandfather (Aydın Bolak)…” We hosted and listened to Zeynep Dereli, who came to the newspaper together with ODAŞ Corporate Communications Manager Yasemin Aydınlar, along with Şeref Oğuz and Hakan Güldağ.
I reminded Zeynep Dereli of our meeting in July 2021:
• “We had an interview on the occasion of your school called Tink, the Technology and Human Colleges. I published it in our newspaper at the time. Has the role of ODAŞ CA General Manager now been added alongside Tink?” Dereli began to explain:
• “I transferred the school. Our paths crossed with ODAŞ through the school. I have assumed responsibility for all of ODAŞ’s international operations. ODAŞ is a company that set out in 2010 with energy generation.” She noted that ODAŞ operates in the energy, mining, and tourism sectors and shared the following information in the company presentation:
• Energy is ODAŞ’s core line of business, with 75.99% of its shares publicly traded. ODAŞ Elektrik Üretim Sanayi Ticaret A.Ş. was established in 2010. In 2011, the first phase of the Şanlıurfa Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant was commissioned. The plant reached an installed capacity of 140 MW in 2013.
• 2014: Investment began in the Çan2 Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant based on domestic coal. A 0.25 MW Solar Power Plant (SPP) was commissioned.
• 2015: ODAŞ initiated operations in gold, silver, and antimony mining. It acquired 100% of “Suda Maden A.Ş.,” which produces antimony.
• 2016: Production and sales of antimony and antimony trioxide commenced.
• 2018: The Çan2 Thermal Power Plant was commissioned.
• 2021: Çan2 Termik A.Ş. was publicly listed. The Şanlıurfa Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant was relocated to Uzbekistan.
• 2022: The first phase of the Uzbekistan Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant in the Khorezm region was commissioned. It became the second power plant realized through private sector initiative in Uzbekistan.
• 2023: ODAŞ launched investments in the tourism sector. She pointed to two major steps taken in 2024:
• Çan2 Termik A.Ş. acquired 65% of Denarius Pumping Services LLC.
• The installed capacity of the power plant in Uzbekistan, which had been operating at 158 MW, increased to 174 MW. It meets the electricity needs of 500,000 households. The total investment in Uzbekistan reached $100 million. She stated that the current installed capacity of the Çan2 Thermal Power Plant is 340 MW and summarized the role of ODAŞ CA, which she heads:
• “ODAŞ CA is the Group’s first overseas energy investment and one of the most significant milestones in its international growth strategy.” From the presentation, she provided details regarding Venezuela:
• “Denarius Pumping Services LLC, 65% of which was acquired by Çan2 Termik A.Ş., has 25 years of technical expertise and market experience in oil extraction services. It provides services to major international organizations such as Chevron.”
She noted that Denarius Pumping Services LLC had total assets of $52.2 million in 2024, the year the shares were acquired:
• “Denarius holds U.S.-approved licenses. We expect our operations in Venezuela to expand.” Having set out in energy in 2010, the ODAŞ Group has, over 15 years, expanded its operations into mining and tourism, established itself in Uzbekistan in energy, and opened the door to significant opportunities in Venezuela…
Bahattin Özal, Son of Korkut Özal, Among the Partners I reviewed the shareholder structure in the investor presentation prepared by ODAŞ:
• Publicly traded: 75.99%
• Burak Altay: 16.31%
• Bahattin Özal: 4.87%
• BB Enerji Yatırım Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.: 2.83%
The Chairman of the Board is Bahattin Özal, who holds a 4.87% stake. He is the son of former Interior Minister Korkut Özal and the nephew of Turkey’s 8th President, Turgut Özal. Korkut Özal’s daughter, Hafize Ayşegül Özal, also serves on ODAŞ’s Board of Directors.
800,000 Tons of Antimony Reserves Zeynep Dereli, General Manager of ODAŞ CA, summarized the company’s mining operations from the investor presentation:
• “ODAŞ continues the production and sale of antimony, which is classified among rare and critical metals. ODAŞ also holds gold and silver licenses in the Kütahya region.”
She emphasized that ODAŞ began its antimony mining operations in 2015 with the acquisition of Suda Maden A.Ş. for $1 million:
• “At the time of acquisition, Suda Maden A.Ş. had $15 million in equity and $1.5 million in cash on its balance sheet. The Group began antimony sales in 2016.”
She pointed to the areas where antimony is used:
• “Antimony is used in critical fields such as flame retardants, renewable energy, advanced technologies, battery systems, and defense applications.”
She elaborated on these areas:
• Flame Retardants: Antimony plays a critical role in flame-retardant formulations that enhance the fire resistance of textiles, plastics, and electronic devices.
• Renewable Energy: Antimony plays an important role in solar panels, nuclear plant shielding, wind turbines, and energy transition and storage solutions.
• High-Tech Strategic Defense: Antimony is among the strategic components used in high-tech defense applications such as armor-piercing ammunition, camouflage systems, and lasers.
• Technology: Antimony is used in cables, circuit boards, infrared sensors, flame-retardant plastics, babbitt bearings, and specialized technologies for maritime applications. We were curious about the price trend of antimony, and she shared:
• “As of June 2025, prices had reached five times the level at the beginning of 2024. Compared to January 1, 2025, prices increased by 47%, reaching $60,000 per ton. The year 2025 was completed with an average price of $47,000 per ton.”
She pointed to ODAŞ’s reserves:
• “ODAŞ has 800,000 tons of proven antimony reserves. As Turkey’s only vertically integrated antimony trioxide producer, it supplies the battery, PET polyester, glass, and ceramics industries.”
$14 Million Revenue from Gypsum and Fly Ash Zeynep Dereli also explained how they evaluate fly ash generated at the Çan2 Thermal Power Plant:
• “First, a separation facility and then an ash mill investment were made. This enabled the integration of fly ash into the circular economy.” She stated that fly ash and synthetic gypsum have been exported to the United States, Canada, and European countries since 2020:
• “Since 2020, 1.5 million tons of fly ash and synthetic gypsum have been exported to the U.S., Canada, and European countries. This has generated $14 million in revenue.”
2 Billion Lira Investment in Solar Power During the conversation, Zeynep Dereli also mentioned the Group’s newly planned solar power plant (SPP):
• “Seventy percent of the estimated funds to be obtained from the capital increase will be used for new investments aimed at diversifying thermal baseload energy generation capacity—primarily with solar energy—and increasing the share of renewables in total production.”
She conveyed the company’s commitment submitted to the Capital Markets Board (CMB):
• “We have committed approximately 2 billion Turkish lira to invest in solar power plants. This investment will be carried out under the umbrella of Çan2 Termik A.Ş.”
Göcek Hotel Began Operations in June 2025 I also reviewed thea tourism investments in ODAŞ’s investor presentation:
• Our 59-room upper-segment facility in Günlüklü Bay, Göcek, began operating at full capacity as of June 2025.
