Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan announced that US representatives have agreed, albeit unofficially at the moment, to a proposal by the Romanian authorities to put into operation the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, whose activities were frozen due to sanctions against the Russian Federation, the news site News.ro reports, BTA reported.
The conflict in the Middle East has affected the price of fuels worldwide, including in Romania. The price of standard gasoline exceeded 8 lei per liter (1.57 euros), and the Minister of Energy admitted that it is not excluded that the price of fuel will reach 10 lei (1.96 euros) per liter in the context of the conflict.
If Romania increases its crude oil imports, the “Lukoil“ refinery in the city of Ploiești will provide nearly a fifth of the required amount of fuel for the local market, reminds Digi 24 TV.
The “Petrotel-Lukoil“ refinery has a capacity of 48,600 barrels per day and is the third largest in the country. It is currently closed due to sanctions against Russia and is under the supervision of the Romanian authorities, along with other companies from the “Lukoil“ group that operate in the country. De facto, the Romanian state has taken control of the strategic decisions of the companies in the group without taking away the ownership of the shareholders, but drastically limiting their autonomy. The supervisor has the right of veto over the sources of supply, that is, “Lukoil“ cannot decide on its own where to buy raw materials, and the state guarantees in this way that the refinery operates with gas of non-Russian origin, in accordance with EU sanctions.
Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan announced last night to Antena 3 television that the meeting of the Supreme National Defense Council yesterday also discussed the actions that the Ministry of Energy is taking to reopen the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery.
“We had informal talks in the US and they said: OK, we agree that you start working there to increase your refining capacity by 21 percent (…)“, the Energy Minister told Antena 3. He pointed out that the Romanian authorities have opened new trade routes and have held negotiations with American companies for the trade and production of diesel fuel, so they are ready to put the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery back into operation if they have the consent of OFAC (the agency in the US Treasury Department that manages and enforces economic and trade sanctions, ed.).
According to the minister, this will help increase Romania's energy independence.
Bogdan Ivan also said that steps are being taken to ensure that the country has enough oil, sufficient reserves of diesel and gasoline, as well as to secure new supply routes that do not depend on the Middle East.
According to him, Romania has expanded its agreements with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, where the main petroleum products and crude oil that is refined in Romania come from.
The minister said that the average increase in fuel prices at gas stations in Romania is around 7 percent, while in Germany it is 18 percent, and in Spain and Italy - 20 percent or more.
Bogdan Ivan indicated that the parties in the ruling coalition discussed several scenarios on Monday in relation to the increase in fuel prices, which is the largest in recent decades. The minister indicated that the authorities are ready to put the “Petrotel“ refinery back into operation, have postponed technical repairs to the “Petromidi“ refinery in Constanta, and the “Petrobrazi“ refinery is operating at maximum capacity to ensure the necessary amount of fuel on the local market.