Petrobrazi refinery : OMV Petrom to invest €70m to modernize Romanian oil refinery

European integrated energy company OMV Petrom is set to invest a total of €70 million for the modernization of the Petrobrazi refinery in Romania.

Petrobrazi refinery has already €25 million of the earmarked investment and has completed the transportation of four coke drums to upgrade the refinery, which has a total crude oil processing capacity of 4.5 million tons per year.

Replacing the existing ones, the coke drums are expected to become operational in 2023. The current drums of the Petrobrazi oil refinery have been operating since 1989.

Each weighing almost 200 tons and about 6 meters in diameter, the 30-meter tall coke drums are produced in Bucharest, Romania. The drums play a key role in the refining process, ensuring the conversion of the heavy components into superior products, at high temperatures.

OMV Petrom to invest €70m to modernize Petrobrazi refinery in Romania. Photo courtesy of CristianChirita/Wikimedia Commons.

Radu Căprău — OMV Petrom Executive Board member, who is responsible for the Refining and Marketing activity, said: “Replacing the coke drums is an essential project for Petrobrazi refinery, improving the efficiency and safety of our operations. The coke drums will be replaced during the 2-month general turnaround planned for the first half of 2023.”

Due to the oversized capacity, the transportation of the four coke drums at the Petrobrazi oil refinery was carried out in two stages.

OMV Petrom has invested a total of €1.8 billion the Petrobrazi refinery since 2005, with a third of that going towards reducing the environmental impact.