1st Crude Oil Vessel Through Midia Marine

On Feb. 18, Midia Marine Terminal, a company member of the Rompetrol Group, unloaded the first petroleum ship (60,000 tons) through the new marine terminal, built at the end of last year.

“It’s the first step that confirms both the functioning of the new investment in optimal parameters, as well as the Group's intention to become a key player in providing petroleum to the Central and Western Europe refineries. The transfer of the petroleum to the refinery's tank park has been done with no problems and has also benefited from excellent weather conditions” said Tudorel Dumitraşcu, general manager of the project developed by Midia Marine Terminal.

The annual transfer capacity of the terminal is of 24 million tons of petroleum and will allow the accomplishment of some reduction of at least 4-5 USD/ton of the petroleum supply costs, by decreasing the distance with approximately 33 kilometers compared to the lay-out through Constanta harbor and by eliminating the afferent technological losses. The terminal can receive ships with a capacity of up to 165.000 tdw, the loading/unloading operations being made through a floating docking system that connects to the petroleum tank park of the refinery through an underwater and land pipeline.

The construction works at the marine terminal located at 8.8 km offshore in the Black Sea have been completed at the end of last year, the total value of the investment being of over $100m. The technical project needed both various geotechnical and geophysical studies for the pipeline location area, as well as all the available environment data regarding the wind, waves, water temperatures and earthquakes regime.

At the same time, the group’s main refinery, Rompetrol Rafinare, has allocated more than $40m for the modernization of the petroleum tank park in maximum efficiency conditions and environment protection, in agreement with the international provisions in force. On the long run, the Rompetrol Group intends to develop the stocking capacities afferent to the Petromidia platform from 500,000 tons at present to 1.5 million tons of petroleum.

At the end of last year, Rompetrol Rafinare also finalized the extension works by approximately 350% of the transit capacity of oil products through Midina Năvodari harbor (berth 9) by an investment of more than $29m. In 2008, the company has registered a hystorical record of processed petroleum – 4.2 million tons, from 3.7 million tons in 2007 and 1.15 million tons in 2000, before being taken over by The Rompetrol Group.