Petrotel-LUKOIL is preparing for a production growth this year to 2.6 million tones, close to the annual maximum capacity of 2.7 million tons of crude oil. In the first week of March, Petrotel-LUKOIL is expecting to receive one million barrels of crude oil from Iran, one of the first shipments of crude oil to Europe, after cancellation of the sanctions on Teheran. The refinery envisions diversification of raw material, anticipating decline of the resources available in Russia. Since undertaking the refinery in Ploiești, LUKOIL invested in those installations about 570 million dollars, primarily in enhanced security, secondly in achieving all of the environment objectives (120 million dollars), and adding 40 million dollars direct costs linked to clearing the historical pits.

Dănulescu Dan, deputy general manager of Petrotel LUKOIL

Our main source of crude oil was Russia. Now, this resource is declining, following the inauguration of the two pipelines to China. Therefore, we try to prepare for the next 5-6 years for a shift from the assortment of Urals crude to a mixed one. For example, last year we processed crude oil from Iraq and Angola. And regarding the well-known one million barrels of crude oil from Iran, yes, we expect the shipment in the first week of March.

What are the prospects for LUKOIL presence in Romania?

Given the diversity of business that Lukoil has in Romania at the moment, and for the strategic consideration of Romania for Lukoil, I believe the business will be stable in the next period.

The comments were made within the Energy Breakfast Club, organized on 17 February by energynomics.ro and its partners: ALD Automotive, Envisan Romania, PETROTEL-LUKOIL, Ridgid, SGS Romania, Sixt New Kopel.

Lukoil is the largest private oil and gas company in Russia, present in Romania since 1998, when it acquired the refinery Teleajen. In its 18 years of activity in Romania, Lukoil developed on nearly every branch of oil and gas sector: distribution, refining, lubricant production, exploration, energy and now counts about 6,000 employees.