OMV Petrom starts EUR 45 mln refinery turnaround

OMV Petrom, the biggest oil and gas group in Romania, will close its Petrobrazi refinery near Ploiesti for six weeks for the periodical turnaround. The project’s value exceeds EUR 45 million and covers modernization and maintenance works. Following the completion of the modernization work planned for this year, the mean time between turnarounds will increase to four years, with the next turnaround scheduled for 2022. Before 2014, turnarounds of this type were performed annually and, after the Petrobrazi modernization program was finalized, the mean time between turnarounds was extended to two years. “The upcoming maintenance and modernization works give us the confidence that the refinery will function safely for the next four years and the environmental impact will be further reduced. We also estimate that the Petrobrazi turnaround will be beneficial to the local economy, as approximately 80% of the involved companies are local,” said Neil Anthony Morgan, member of OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Downstream Oil. OMV Petrom has invested over EUR 1.5 billion in the Petrobrazi refinery since 2005. editor@romania-insider.com