OMV Petrom allowed to use crude oil and diesel reserve after refusing contaminated Azeri oil

Romania’s Ministry of Energy informed on Monday, August 4, that it has authorised OMV Petrom to temporarily use 80,000 tonnes of crude oil and 30,000 tonnes of diesel out of its reserves to offset the effects of refusing two ships carrying a total of 180,000 tonnes of contaminated Azeri crude oil.

Minister Bogdan Ivan declared a state of emergency at the level of crisis, to allow the company to use its strategic reserves.

“The amounts temporarily used by the OMV Petrom account for less than 5.5% of the national emergency stocks. The reserves, which total over 2 million tonnes, will be replenished in a maximum of 60 days. The supply of petroleum products to the Romanian market is ensured and operates without disruptions, thanks to the measures we took in advance,″ minister of energy Bogdan Ivan later declared, according to Profit.ro.

OMV Petrom informed the Ministry of Energy that, between July 16 and 18, it received a vessel of Azerbaijani crude oil (92 kt) loaded in the port of Ceyhan (Turkey). Following re-analyses and upon unloading, this batch of crude oil proved to be contaminated with organic chlorides from the loading port. Also, following the analyses performed, Petrom decided to refuse to load another shipment of 92 kt.

Thus, 184 kt of imported crude oil became unavailable from the supply chain of the Petrobrazi refinery.

The Ministry of Energy notified the European Commission and declared a crisis-level emergency. It also authorised the release of emergency stocks from the stocks established by OMV Petrom, thus ensuring the uninterrupted operation of the refinery and avoiding a major disruption on the national fuel market.

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