Killajoules

Axens Awarded for a PolyFuel® Contract in Romania
OMV Petrom has selected Axens to supply the PolyFuel® technology for its project at the Petrobrazi Refinery.The capacity of the project is 200,000 tons per year.

Petrom finalized the upgrade of the crude vacuum distillation unit in Petrobrazi refinery
Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in South-Eastern Europe, commissioned the modernized crude vacuum distillation unit in Petrobrazi refinery, during the scheduled 6-week refinery general shutdown. The investment for the modernization program amounted to around EUR 100 mn. Petrobrazi refinery resumed operations this week.

Rompetrol is finalizing the assembly works of two new units on the Petromidia platform
“On the eve of the 20’th anniversary of the Republic of Kazahstan Rominserv – a subsidiary company and the general contractor of The Rompetrol Group, is successfully completing construction and assembly operations on two new units at the Petromidia platform (mild hydrocracker unit and hydrogen plant) and has began pre-commissioning and start-up activities in accordance with the refinery processing capacity increase program up to 5 million tons. The investment in the new facilities is estimated to be 264 million USD, while the Petromidia refinery processing capacity increase program amounts 377 million USD.“

Petrom makes a potentially significant gas discovery in Southwestern Romania
Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in Southeastern Europe, announces the successful result of the exploration well 4539 Totea. The well was drilled in Southwestern Romania, in the Oltenia region, to a depth of 3,600 m and targeted a potentially large, high pressure accumulation. Wireline logging1 indicates the presence of multiple hydrocarbon bearing intervals within the early Miocene objective. During testing, a maximum stabilized flow rate of approximately 3,100 boe/d gas and associated condensate was recorded from a single zone. The results to date indicate this may be a significant new field which is to be assessed by further appraisal.

Petrom took the decision to permanently close the Arpechim refinery
Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in Southeastern Europe, announces the decision to permanently close Arpechim refinery. The decision was taken in the Supervisory Board meeting that took place on March 24, 2011, and is in line with Petrom’s strategy to maximize the integration value of the company and to increase efficiency. The sale option, which the company investigated in the past year, is not feasible as no credible buyer was identified that would have the experience and financial resources necessary to safely and sustainably operate the refinery. On the other hand, Arpechim refinery is a challenging investment case considering that it is a landlocked refinery needing to import crude oil and mainly exporting finished products. In Europe, a series of other refineries that are more technologically advanced and better positioned than Arpechim face the same situation and are already closed or not operating.