Petromidia – 45 of years of development, innovation and performance

Petromidia Refinery, one of the most important refineries in the region and the largest profile unit in the country, is celebrating 45 years of activity, during which it evolved from a simple blueprint to a modern refinery capable of supporting the energy sector.

“The history of this refinery is the history of a dedicated and professional community of people who have passed from generation to generation the values that raised Petromidia, from a piece of land to a pivotal industrial platform for the entire country. From the first days KazMunayGas came to Romania, we all understood that we had a huge responsibility, and the involvement of the shareholder was a major one, with unprecedented financial efforts for the development of Petromidia. The competitiveness of our refinery is the result of constant investments, doubled by the professionalism of the people who contribute to the general operational and safety objectives at work, day by day”, declared Ilias Kuldzhanov, CEO of KMG International (Rompetrol).

Petromidia began its activity in 1979, with the commissioning of the Atmospheric Distillation Column. Gradually, new installations entered the operational stream, Petromidia counting today no less than 29 installations specialized in refining, petrochemicals, or utilities.

Due to the high complexity of the refinery, more than 30 distinct main and auxiliary products can be obtained, including fuels (gasoline, diesel, kerosene), liquefied petroleum gases, polyethylene, polypropylene, or petroleum coke. At the same time, the resulting semi-finished products are used in the Vega Ploiesti refinery, the only unit in the country that can produce bitumen or hexane.

A major asset for the Romanian energy sector, Petromidia was taken over in 2007, along with all other Rompetrol production units and companies, by the national oil and gas company from Kazakhstan – KazMunayGas. Just one year later, the program to increase the refinery’s capacity from 3.5 million tons to 5 million tons of raw materials processed per year is initiated.

The last 17 years represent the new era in Petromidia’s story, with investments of over one billion dollars in the Navodari refinery alone, extensive investment programs, related facilities that directly support the activity of the refinery – offshore marine terminal, automated loading ramps, tank farm, etc.

During the 45 years of uninterrupted operation, Petromidia processed about 150 million tons of raw materials: about 26 million tons in 1979-1990, 23.2 million tons in 1990-2000 and 26.6 million tons from 2000 until the takeover by KazMunayGas. From that moment to the present day, a grace period can be defined for Petromidia, with total volumes of processed raw materials approaching 80 million tons.

Practically, more than half of the total raw materials arriving in Petromidia were refined in the last 17 years, with the support of the sole shareholder of KMGI. Annually, between 60% and 75% of the total crude oil processed comes from Kazakhstan.

The steady development comes in the context of a significant decline in the number and capacities of refining units in Europe, caused also by the decreasing demand for oil products. In 2009 – 2014, the decrease was about 10%, slight increases were recorded in 2015 – 2019, but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led to decreases in demand of about 12%.

Despite the obvious fluctuations in the market, KMG International has made efforts to maintain the main production assets – Petromidia and Vega refineries, but also the only petrochemical division in Romania, to the highest standards, a proof of commitment to the development of refining and downstream activities, which maintain the stability of the energy sector, support the export balance of Romania, and generate jobs, both directly and horizontally, in related industries. Today, around 2,000 employees of KMG International member companies are active on the Petromidia platform, every day.

The KMG International Group, through Rompetrol Rafinare, ensures new investments, such as those implemented during this year’s general turnaround (about 85 million dollars only for modernization and re-technology projects) and pursues new development opportunities in the operational area, in the sphere of decarbonization, but also on the logistics side.

In 2024, the unit in Navodari aims to achieve a yield of white products of 85.85%, and from the processed raw materials, Rompetrol Rafinare intends to obtain 2.19 million tons of diesel and 1.34 million tons of gasoline.

The significant shareholders of Rompetrol Rafinare SA are KMG International (54.63% – directly and indirectly) and the Romanian State, through the Ministry of Energy (44.7%).