March 8 (SeeNews) - Romania's Rompetrol Rafinare [BSE:RRC] said on Friday it has started the general overhaul of its Petromidia Navodari refinery, scheduled to be completed on April 26.
The project aims to maintain, recertify and modernise the refinery’s production units, Rompetrol Rafinare said in a report filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Rominserv, the local maintenance and engineering arm of KazMunayGas International Group (KMG International Group), Rompetrol’s parent company, will coordinate the project.
In the first phase of the overhaul, the refinery will halt operations and drain oil products from its production units, undergoing works for about 40 days. Subsequently, the units will be reintegrated into the refinery's production flow, aiming to achieve optimal capacity in May.
During this period, the company will supply the required fuel to the domestic market and fulfil petroleum product deliveries as per existing commercial contracts using its own stock.
The project includes the replacement of the reactors in the Diesel hydrotreater unit, as well as the modernisation and replacement of components and subassemblies in the hydrogen plant and the delayed coking unit, respectively.
The maintenance of the Petromidia refinery is a mandatory measure implemented by Rompetrol Rafinare every four years to enhance safety for technical installations and employees. The works may also set the stage for a favourable framework for future investments in production capabilities.
Vega, the company's second refinery located in the southern city of Ploiesti, will also scale back its operations due to scheduled maintenance work.
The main shareholders of Rompetrol Rafinare are KMG International with a stake of 54.63% and the Romanian state through the energy ministry with 44.7%.
Rompetrol Rafinare closed last year with a preliminary consolidated net loss of $270.5 million (247.5 million euro), compared to a net profit of $90.3 million in 2022.
Rompetrol Rafinare's shares traded 3.75% lower at 0.077 lei as at 1408 CET on Monday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
($=0.9149 euro)
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