Romanian energy minister plans to restart Lukoil refinery and “new trade routes”

Romania’s minister of energy, Bogdan Ivan, said he contacted “those from the US” and received “informal approval” for starting operations at the Petrotel Lukoil refinery to increase the country's refining capacity by 21%, according to Profit.ro, citing the Romanian minister speaking for Antena3.

However, while the global refining capacity remained largely intact recently, the crude supply chains were disrupted by the Middle East conflict – which places the problem in the area of crude oil availability, rather than in that of crude refining.

Anticipating this issue, minister Ivan said he “reopened new trading routes.”

“We have reopened new trade routes, we have had discussions with American giants in terms of trading and diesel production, and today [March 11] I can say that we are ready to restart the Petrotel Lukoil refinery, after we have an agreement from OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) in the United States of America, and thus increase our energy independence as much as possible, namely the direct production that we can have," the minister announced speaking for Antena 3.

Romania previously placed Petrotel Lukol refinery under special management, such as to allow it to resume operations after a technical shutdown, in the context of Lukoil’s subsidiaries coming under sanctions dictated by OFAC.

After the Middle East conflict pushed up the oil and gas prices globally, minister Ivan assured that the fuel prices in Romania would remain steady – a statement he later reversed.

Minister Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, a sociologist by education, with a master's degree in Communication and Public Relations and a PhD degree under the supervision of PSD influential leader Vasile Dancu, has previously served as minister of digitalisation.

(Photo source: Facebook/Rafinaria Petrotel Lukoil)