OMV Petrom advances renewable diesel, SAF project at Petrobrazi
OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe, announced Sept. 21 that it is advancing construction of the new sustainable fuels production unit at its Petrobrazi refinery in Romania.
This 560-million-euro (USD$643.1 million) investment will position the refinery as the first major producer of sustainable fuels in the region.
The foundations have been laid, and the main pieces of equipment for processing sustainable fuels—including columns and reactors—have been mounted and installed.
With a capacity of 250,000 metric tons per year, the new unit will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel, also known as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), fuels that can contribute to reducing emissions in hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation and heavy transport.
“Petrobrazi is going through one of the most important transformations in its recent history,” said Radu Căprău, a member of the OMV Petrom executive board. “With a 560-million-euro investment, we are building a new unit that will produce 250,000 tons per year of sustainable fuels made from renewable feedstocks. These lower-carbon fuels will contribute to reducing emissions in sectors where electrification is difficult, such as aviation and heavy transport. We have completed the foundations, for which approximately 20,000 cubic meters of concrete were poured, and equipment up to 60 meters high is already installed in the refinery. This is a project through which we are gradually adapting Petrobrazi to the new requirements of the market and of the energy transition, including through the development of sustainable fuels production.”
About the project
The new SAF/HVO unit will transform renewable feedstocks such as vegetable oil and used cooking oil (UCO) with the help of green hydrogen into fuels similar to conventional ones, but with significantly lower lifecycle emissions.
The flexibility of the new unit will allow the adjustment of the feedstocks and of the final product mix, from SAF and HVO to bionaphtha and biobased liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), depending on market requirements and feedstock availability.
The use of these fuels allows for a significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels (by at least 65 percent).
Construction work started in 2025.
In the coming period, works will continue with the installation of equipment, the connection of the new units to the refinery’s existing infrastructure, as well as an extensive testing and verification program before commissioning, estimated for 2028.
At the same time, the company has developed green-hydrogen production capacity at Petrobrazi.
This year, the modules for the two electrolyzers, with a total capacity of 55 megawatts, were delivered.
The investment in these projects amounts to around 190-million euros (USD$218.2 million).
