Rompetrol Rafinare restarts a petrochemical unit at the Petromidia refinery

Rompetrol Rafinare will restart the Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) unit at the beginning of May. The final technological tests are currently being carried out to restart the installation, which was shut down at the end of 2023 due to the unfavourable market context.

The reintegration of the LDPE unit is being carried out with an investment of 1.5 million USD, due to which the company intends to consolidate its position as the only national polymer producer.

“The growing demand for petrochemical products has led us to reactivate the LDPE installation, and this will lead to visible progress in the petrochemical division, which has recently depended only on the Polypropylene (PP) installation. By restarting LDPE, we are consolidating our status as the market leader in the segment and taking an important step in the development of petrochemicals in Romania,” said Yedil Utekov, Chief Production & Industrial Services Officer at KMG International (Rompetrol)

For the entire month of April, the installation underwent a general turnaround, and the works included equipment verification and their re-authorization, according to the regulations in force. Hydraulic pressure tests, resistance tests, and also verification of the pipeline system through which the raw material is transported were carried out.

Recently, all functional and safety tests were successfully completed, with all stages preceding the restart being coordinated by Rominserv, the Group’s general contractor, and executed by specialized subcontractors, under the guidance of Rompetrol Rafinare specialists.

The installation is notable for using a compressor with an installed power of 6.8 MW (the largest equipment of its kind in the refinery), the reactor operates at an average pressure of 2,300-2,400 bar, and the ethylene is stored in a special cryogenic tank at a temperature of -103 degrees Celsius.

With a production capacity of 75,000 tons per year, the unit will supply, starting in May, grades (finished products) for heat-shrinkable film, agricultural film, thick bags and thin film for packaging, products that will support multiple industries in Romania.

In 2024, the petrochemical division processed 83,000 tons of propylene, and the total polymer production was about 60,000 thousand tons, through the operation of the Polypropylene (PP) installation. Rompetrol Rafinare aims, in 2025, to produce over 145,000 tons of polymers.

The significant shareholders of Rompetrol Rafinare are KMG International (54.63% – directly and indirectly) and the Romanian State, through the Ministry of Energy (44.7%).