1 week Ago
Rompetrol Rafinare is set to restart the Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant at the beginning of May, currently undergoing the last technological tests for the restart of the plant, which was shut down at the end of 2023 due to the unfavorable market context. According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, the reintegration of the LDPE plant is being realized with an investment effort of 1.5 million USD, through which the company intends to strengthen its position as the only national producer of polymers.
"Growing demand for petrochemicals has prompted us to reactivate the LDPE plant, which will lead to visible progress in the petrochemicals division, which has been solely dependent on the Polypropylene (PP) Plant in the recent period. By restarting the LDPE, we are consolidating our status as a market leader in the segment and taking an important step in the development of petrochemicals in Romania," Yedil Utekov, Director of Production and Industrial Services of KMG International (Rompetrol), was quoted as saying in the press release. According to the cited source, during the entire period when the plant was shut down, Rompetrol Rafinare redeployed the dedicated LDPE plant staff, not considering any measures that would affect the employees.
The company has thus reconfirmed its status as a stable, secure and reliable employer, despite the unfavorable market context. According to the company, ethylene is one of the raw materials derived from crude oil with growing demand on the world market. "The low inventories of ethylene-producing refineries (production units that operate including pyrolysis - special plants that carry out a reconversion of refinery by-products) are one of the factors that have influenced the availability of the raw material needed for the LDPE plant," Rompetrol representatives say.
With a production capacity of 75,000 tonnes per year, the plant will supply, starting in May, sorters (finished products) for shrink film, agricultural film, thick bags and thin film for packaging, products that will support multiple industries in Romania, company representatives said. In 2024, the petrochemicals division processed 83,000 tonnes of propylene and the total production of polymers was about 60,000 tonnes, through the operation of the Polypropylene (PP) plant. Rompetrol Rafinare aims to produce more than 145,000 tonnes of polymers in 2025.
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%).
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