Petromidia steers towards petrochemistry

Changes in the top management of the private oil group Rompetrol, announced last week, actually account for a strategy the group is considering for the next two years. Eric Chis, former Petromidia refinery manager, has finished his job of cleaning and restructuring one of the largest and most complex refineries in Romania, which he left in February, when it was making “a sustainable profit”, a goal he undertook to attain upon taking his position. From now on, the new manager, Sorin Potanc, will have to see through the automation of the refinery, started a year ago, and bring the processing costs to $15/tonne instead of the current $20/tonne. Back in 2001, when Rompetrol bought the refinery, the processing cost was $55/tone and the number of employees reached about 3,600. Following some $100 million investments in two years, Petromidia has come to employ only 1,400 people and see the processing cost per tonne down from $55 to $20, given that it mainly processes sour oil. Eric Chis, now Rompetrol VP for investments and development, says he plans to turn the petrochemical division around, supported by Rompetrol as producer and trader of petrochemicals in the Balkans and then focus on regional expansion. The turnover of this division is therefore set to triple to $120 million in two years, from last year’s $40 million. ZF