“The main target of the investment program was to increase competiveness. OMV Petrom is now able to process the entire Romanian crude production of OMV Petrom in a single refinery,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
Following the completion of the modernization program, the refinery’s total energy consumption will be reduced by 25% against 2009. Also, the adjustment of Petrobrazi refinery’s capacity up to 4.2 million tons per year ensures the efficient processing of the crude, capitalizing on OMV Petrom’s integrated company model, according to the statement.
Also, Petrobrazi refinery will produce 1.5 million tons of diesel per year, compared to 900,000 tons of diesel in 2009. Diesel and jet fuel will have a share of up to 45% in the products yield structure of Petrobrazi refinery.
“The increase of the diesel share in Petrobrazi refinery’s production will enable a better response to the demand on the Romanian market. In the past, when the refinery was designed, gasoline consumption exceeded that of diesel but in recent years this trend has reversed,” Neil Anthony Morgan, OMV Petrom Executive Board member, responsible for Refining and Marketing said in the statement.
Petrobrazi is OMV Petrom’s only functional refinery. The company’s other oil processing unit, Arpechim, has been shut down.
OMV Austria holds 51.01% of the shares of OMV Petrom, Romania’s Economy Ministry owns a 20.64% stake, investment fund Fondul Proprietatea holds an 18.99% stake, while 9.36% of the shares are traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.