Romanian oil and gas giant OMV Petrom has opened a new production unit at its Petrobrazi refinery near Ploiești, in southern Romania, which will convert LPG and low-grade light gasoline into high-value petroleum petrol and diesel. The new unit is only the third of its kind in the world, and the first that will convert low-grade gasoline as well as LPG.
”The new Polyfuel unit brings the state-of-the-art technologies used in the petrochemical and refining industry to the Petrobrazi refinery,” said Radu Caprau, a member of OMV Petrom executive board, responsible for downstream oil. “Through sustained investment, Petrobrazi continues to rank among the most important refineries in Romania, operating at the highest standards – energy efficiency and environmental standards included – and contributing to the economic development of the area.”
Based on innovative PolyFuel technology developed by the French company Axens, the new unit at Petrobrazi increases the value of the production mix due to a higher share of gasoline and diesel in total refinery output. LPG and low-grade light gasoline conversion results in approximately 50,000 tons of gasoline and diesel every year, the equivalent of one million vehicle refuels.
The total capacity of the Petrobrazi refinery of 4.5 million tons per year will remain unchanged.
Work at the PolyFuel unit started in 2017 and required a around 65 million euros worth of investment. OMV Petrom is the largest corporation in Romania and the largest oil and gas producer in Southeastern Europe. The company made a profit of 856 million euros in 2018 on turnover of 4.73 billion euros.
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Photo: OMV Petrom
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