Dan Danulescu, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Petrotel-Lukoil, confirmed that the company has applied for such a licence from the US authorities, according to mediafax.ro.
“Petrotel is continuing its efforts to obtain a special OFAC licence, which would allow us to resume operations within a clear legal framework. We are not seeking to circumvent the sanctions regime, but rather to establish a clear, limited and verifiable mechanism,” said Danulescu.
One of the largest players in Romania’s fuel market
Petrotel’s significance for the regional market stems from its production capacity. The Ploiești oil refinery has an installed capacity of around 2.4 million tonnes of crude oil per year, which accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the total capacity of Romania’s oil refineries.
Under normal operating conditions, the plant can produce around 1.1 million tonnes of diesel and 600,000 tonnes of petrol per year.
The return of such capacity to the market could alter the balance between domestic production and imports. Romania will once again have an important source of petroleum products, whilst traders will have an additional alternative for supplies.
How this will affect Moldova
Petrotel’s management acknowledges that restarting the refinery will not automatically lead to a fall in fuel prices.
“We do not promise that a single oil refinery will be able to control fuel prices. But the country is more resilient when it utilises all its refining capacity,” said Dan Danulescu.
Therefore, for the Republic of Moldova, the resumption of operations at Petrotel-Lukoil may only have an indirect impact on the fuel market. Increased availability of petroleum products in the region may help to diversify supply sources and reduce the pressure caused by dependence on imports from other markets.
On the other hand, the availability of additional oil refining capacity in the region could intensify competition between suppliers and reduce the vulnerability of the Romanian and Moldovan markets in the event of further disruptions to transport or supplies.
Follow our updates
Have information for the newsroom? Share it with Logos-Press
