Romania's refining capacity fell by 65 percent over the past 20 years, reaching 11.7 million tons annually. Out of ten refineries, only 4 are still operating, with only 3 of them processing oil (Petromidia - Rompetrol, Petrobrazi - OMV Petrom and Petrotel - Lukoil). The fourth Romanian refinery, (Vega Ploiesti) belongs to Rompetrol. In over 100 years of existence, it has switched from a traditional refinery, to manufacturer and supplier of specials products .
Last year, the Rompetrol Group completed the investments program in the Petromidia refinery and it thus became the largest and most advanced in Romania. Petromidia represents over 40% of Romania's refining capacity and the overall investments made by the Group and its sole shareholder, KazMunayGas – the oil and gas company of Kazakhstan amounted to EUR 700 million.
The impact of the economic crisis on the European refining sector, influenced the processing capacity, which began to decline rapidly since 2008. The deepest decline in consumption was registered in the Mediterranean region and it was steeper compared to the way companies managed to reduce production.
The Rompetrol Group concentrates around 43 percent of Romania’s refining capacity through Vega Petromidia , a long-term strategic investment, both internally and across the Black Sea region.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, the oil companies will close 10 refineries in Europe by 2020, representing about 10% of the total number of units in the region. According to the directors in the industry, of the 104 refineries in Europe, 10 will be closed permanently in 2020, in countries such as France, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Reasons: lower fuel consumption, massive imports from the United States of America and Asia, large investments that processors from other continents (especially Asia) make in technology and the cost difference in refining margin, net unfavorable to refiners in European Union.
Despite these setbacks, KazMunayGas by Rompetrol Group, has chosen to invest in the largest and most modern refinery in the country - Petromidia, both to preserve the jobs of over 900 employees and of more than 25,000 people who depend directly from this investment, but also because Romania needs the refining capacity so as not to depend on imported fuels.