OMV Petrom, the largest energy company in South-Eastern Europe, will invest approximately EUR 70 million at the Petrobrazi refinery, to replace certain facilities that are essential during the refining process. These are the four Coke Drums which, at very high temperatures, ensure the stage of upgrading heavy components to superior products.

„We are constantly investing in the modernization of the Petrobrazi refinery. The replacement of the Coke Drums is a project with a very high degree of technical and organizational complexity. The new units will have an important contribution to increasing the efficiency and safety of our operations,” said Radu Căprău, member of the OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Downstream Oil.

The four Coke Drums are designed for a lifespan of over 20 years and 5,000 operating cycles and will be produced in Romania. The weight of one coke drum is almost 200 tons, with a diameter of approximately 6 meters and a length / height of around 30 meters. The crane that will be used to replace the Coke Drums will have a height of around 140 meters and, depending on weather conditions, it will be able to be seen from Bucharest.

The process of replacing the Coke Drums will take place between 2021 and 2023; approximately EUR 11 million will be invested this year.

Petrobrazi has a total crude oil processing capacity of 4.5 million tons per year and, starting 2005, OMV Petrom has invested approximately EUR 1.8 billion in the refinery, one third of this investment contributing to the reduction of the environmental impact.