OMV Petrom to invest 750 million euro in biofuel plants

OMV Petrom will build a plant for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and renewable diesel, along with two plants for the production of green hydrogen, it said in a press release.

The SAF and renewable diesel plant will require an investment of 560 million euro. The facility will allow OMV Petrom to supply about 250 kilotonnes of biofuel per year, starting in 2028.

The investment for the two green hydrogen plants is estimated at around 190 million euro, of which 50 million euro will be covered by European funds received through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The two green hydrogen plants will have a cumulative capacity of 55 MW, with the total annual production of green hydrogen estimated at about 8 kilotonnes.

These investments will turn the Petrobrazi refinery into the first major producer of sustainable fuels in the region, as per the statement.

"Together with electro-mobility, biofuels are the answer to low carbon transport, and we expect a gradual increase in demand for these products. Thanks to the investments we announced today, we will be able to replace imports with biofuels produced here in Romania," said Radu Caprau, OMV Petrom board member responsible for refining and marketing.

"In total, by 2030, we’re committing EUR 11 billion to transform the company for a lower carbon future, both in Romania and the region," OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere added.

Last month, OMV Petrom put into operation the country's largest crude oil storage tank, following an investment of more than 23 million euro.

In April, OMV Petrom said it will test an innovative carbon capture and utilisation installation at its Petrobrazi refinery over a period of four months, starting this month. The company approved an all-time high investment budget of 8 billion lei ($1.73 billion/1.61 billion euro) for 2024.

OMV Petrom reported a 1.399 billion lei net profit for the first quarter of 2024, down 6% compared to the same period of last year.

Shares in OMV Petrom traded 1.1% higher at 0.734 lei at 1224 CET on Tuesday on the Bucharest bourse.

(1 euro = 4.9767 lei)