October 30 (SeeNews) - Romania's Rompetrol Rafinare [BSE:RRC], a member of KMG International, said it will suspend until November 15 work at the Petromidia refinery and the petrochemical division for scheduled maintenance.
During the same period, production at Vega refinery will be reduced, Rompetrol Rafinare said in a press release on Monday evening.
"This scheduled technical maintenance is important for the maintenance of the refineries and of the petrochemical division at optimal production capacities, but also for the creation of the necessary framework for future investments. In addition, this will allow the uninterrupted operation of the production installations within the Petromidia refinery until 2020, when the four-year general overhaul is scheduled," Rompetrol Rafinare general manager Yedil Utekov said.
The maintenance works of the three production units (Petromidia and Vega refineries, the petrochemical division) will amount to about $21.5 million (19 million euro), to which about $4.5 million dollars could be added for additional operations.
Under the coordination of the Rominserv company - the general contractor of KMG International, over 40 partner companies, 2,000 people on the Midia platform and about 200 at Vega, will contribute to the successful completion of such work.
The maintenance activity mainly aims at the implementation of 22 investment projects on the Midia platform and 5 in Vega, the preparation of the installations for the uninterrupted operation of the Petromidia refinery until 2020, but also the checking and re-endorsement of over 830 of pipes and equipment under pressure in the Petromidia and 283 in Vega, Rompetrol said.
The completion of the maintenance work aims at achieving a level of mechanical availability of 96.6% in Petromidia refinery after the recommissioning of the installations.
The Petromidia refinery processed in the first half of the year around 3.1 million tons of raw material, over 27% more as compared to the level obtained in the same period in 2017. The refinery represented more than 43 % of the internal processing capacity, being the greatest unit in the field in Romania and one of the most modern in the Black Sea region.
In the same period, Vega Refinery Ploiesti processed a total quantity of 194 thousand tons, 28% more as compared to the similar period in 2017. At present, the refinery is the oldest unit in the field in Romania and is the only internal producer of bitumen and hexane.
The petrochemical division increased, in S1 2018, the total production of polymers by 26% as compared to January-June last year, up to a level of 81.6 thousand tonnes.
In Romania, KMGI operates the Petromidia Navodari refinery – the largest unit of its sort, the Vega Ploiești refinery – the oldest refinery still in operation (1905) and the only producer of bitumen and hexane, as well as a vast network for the distribution of petroleum products.
($= 0.8771 euro)
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