December 7 (SeeNews) - Croatian oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA] said on Thursday that it is suspending production at its Rijeka refinery from the first week of December until next spring for planned maintenance and upgrade works with an overall value of over 100 million euro ($108 million).
“The overhaul has been planned earlier for this winter and it is necessary for several reasons," the company said in an emailed statement to SeeNews. One of the reasons is that INA has to meet legally defined operating requirements, as the last planned maintenance was carried out in 2019. During the current stoppage, 800 pieces of equipment will be cleaned and checked, and 40 ones will be replaced.
Another reason is the need to do works that will enable the refinery to operate nonstop in future, which will contribute to the safety of fuel supply to the market. The shutdown will be used also for investment projects aimed to boost the refinery's energy efficiency and reduce its impact on the environment. Overall, eight investment projects worth more than 60 million euro will be carried out to ensure stable and efficient operation of the refinery in future. These projects will be finished by the end of the stoppage.
Production will be resumed gradually after the end of the overhaul.
For the whole period of suspended production operations, INA has secured a full-range supply of oil derivatives, which will be delivered by sea from the Mediterranean market, it added.
INA’s shares traded 4.08% lower at 470 euro by 1554 local time on Thursday on the Zagreb bourse.
($ = 0.929 euro)
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