Petromidia Refinery fire in Romania Averts Tragedy with No Casualties

Romania: On June 21st, a fire erupted in the afternoon at the Petromidia Navodari refinery of Rompetrol Rafinare on the coast of the Black Sea. According to the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), there have been no reported casualties currently.

As per IGSU, the diesel distillation facility of the refinery where the fire broke out is emitting significant amounts of smoke. More than 65 firefighters are currently engaged in extinguishing the blaze.

According to a statement released by the company, Rompetrol Rafinare's employees promptly informed the internal emergency service and refinery dispatcher about the incident. The authorities were also notified. The Petromidia refinery firefighters were the first to respond before the arrival of IGSU vehicles, thus containing the fire's impact. Rompetrol stated this information in their filing with the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Rompetrol confirmed that all employees who were working at the Mild Hydrocracking Unit (MHC) where the fire broke out, were evacuated.

According to IGSU, a warning message has been issued through the national emergency warning system to safeguard the population located near the site due to the substantial amount of smoke emissions.

IGSU has sent nine more fire trucks and a transportation vehicle with four firefighting robots to the site, in addition to those already present.

As per the report, an explosion took place before the fire outbreak on Wednesday afternoon. Notably, this is the second fire incident at the Petromidia Navodari refinery, with the previous one occurring in July 2021, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to five others.

KMG International Group's biggest asset in Romania is Rompetrol Rafinare, which manages the Group's two refineries: Petromidia in Navodari, located in the Constanta county, with the country's only petrochemical division, and Vega Refinery in Ploiesti, playing a crucial role in maintaining high standards in the local refining industry. Boasting an impressive annual processing capacity of 4.8 million tonnes/year or 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d), the refinery sources its oil supply through an oil terminal located in Port of Midia that can accommodate ships with a capacity.

The Group has made a comprehensive investment of over USD 1.4 billion to expand their refining and petrochemical business lines, as well as improve the infrastructure for crude oil sourcing and delivery of finished products throughout Romania and the Black Sea region.

Starting in 2008, amidst a global financial crisis that severely impacted the oil and gas industry, retrofitting programs were implemented both locally and internationally.