• SLOVNAFT, a.s. noticed an increased amount of fake trade name advertising
• fraudulent activities on behalf of Slovnaft appear mainly on social media, but also as videos or phone calls
• SLOVNAFT, a.s. distances itself from this unethical and fraudulent conduct and calls on the public
  to be cautious

SLOVNAFT, a.s. has recently noticed a significant increase in fraudulent activities that misuse the company's trade name, its brand or the names and photographs of the company's management. Slovnaft warns the public to approach information in the public space critically and not to respond to suspicious offers.

In recent weeks, we have had a number of alerts about fraudulent activity being presented on our behalf. These are mostly sponsored posts on social media, which urge people to invest in the company and to buy Slovnaft shares on the stock exchange, with the promise of high profits. There are several websites on the internet that have been set up to obtain people's personal data and which can be misused. Besides fraudulent activity on the social media, especially on Facebook and Instagram, videos on YouTube and suspicious phone calls occurred this week too. In the case of telephone calls, callers put time pressure on the recipient of the call, possibly threatening sanctions if he or she does not respond to the offer.

"Slovnaft strongly distances itself from these unethical fraudulent activities. We urge the public to be cautious and to draw information about Slovnaft exclusively from the company's official website www.slovnaft.sk and official profiles on social networks," explains Anton Molnár, Spokesperson and Head of Communications of SLOVNAFT, a.s.

• Slovnaft launches new ethylene storage tank
• regular turnarounds of the production unit in the petrochemical part of the refinery and flaring will be gradually halved by the end of the year
• total CO₂ savings will reach 2558 tonnes per year
• the construction of the new storage tank cost almost 70 million euros

Bratislava, October 16, 2023 – Slovnaft has launched a new ethylene storage tank. The investment of almost EUR 70 million will reduce the need for regular shutdown of the LDPE4 polyethylene production unit by half. This will reduce the volume of CO₂ emissions and electricity consumption, and residents in the surroundings of refinery will notice a reduction in regular flaring,  i.e. burning on flares which is an essential part of production units shutting down. Besides the light effect, the flaring is usually accompanied by an increased noise level.

„While until now we needed to shut down the production unit in the petrochemical part of the refinery (LDPE4) an average of 24 times a year due to the raw material balance, by increasing the storage capacity of ethylene, which is the basic raw material for the production of polyethylene, the need to shut down LDPE4 will gradually decrease to 12 times a year by the end of the year,“ explains Ondrej Zákutný, head of Investments at Slovnaft, noting that flaring, i. e. burning of raw material on flare stacks, is an important safety feature when shutting down petrochemical production units.

The new ethylene storage tank is designed for the storage of liquefied ethylene. The non-pressurised double-walled cylindrical vessel with an outer diameter of 30 metres and a height of 26.7 metres can hold 6,000 tonnes (10,000 m3) of liquid ethylene. It is stored there at a temperature of -103 °C and an overpressure of 8 kPa(g).

„The new ethylene storage tank will allow for smoother operation of LDPE4, while reducing the risk of forced shutdown of the Ethylene Unit where ethylene is produced. The total CO₂  savings amount to 2558 tonnes per year,“ says O. Zákutný.

The BAT (Best Available Technology) principle was used in the construction of the ethylene storage tank. The main contractor was OT Industries, which, like Slovnaft, belongs to the MOL Group. The storage tank itself was made by the renowned Italian company Paresa, the compressor packages were supplied by Howden ČKD, NEAD and Aerzen. Two cryogenic submersible pumps from the American company Ebara are installed in the tank and the evaporation of ethylene is carried out by an exchanger from Linde. Two unique operations were also part of the construction.

„The roof of the storage tank was built inside and then was pushed on top of it by air. The roof itself weighs more than 100 tonnes and its construction, as well as the shell itself, was manufactured with millimetre precision in order to realise this lift,“ explains O. Zákutný.

Another exceptional operation was the drilling and plugging of a DN1000 diameter exhaust pipe at a 45-degree angle using the T.D. Williamson method. Such a specific connection method has never been implemented anywhere in the world before and was specially developed for Slovnaft by SEPS.

A video of the construction of the new ethylene storage tank, which will improve the operation of two production units, can be viewed here: 

The ethylene storage tank construction milestones

• September 2016 – investment approval
• August 2017 – contract signing
• July 2018 – start of implementation
• July 2022 – mechanical completeness, delivery of the work from the contractor
• July 2022 – October 2023 – test operation – testing , adjusting and putting the unit into test run
• October 2023 – set date for switchover to permanent operation

Ethylene storage tank in numbers

• Total investment: EUR 68.81 million
• Outside diameter: 30 m
• Height of the storage tank up to the roof dome (without reinforced concrete base): 26.7 m
• Operating capacity of ethylene: 6000 tons (10 000 m3)
• Storage temperature: -103 °C
• CO2 savings: 2558 tonnes per year

On Thursday, October 19, in the early afternoon, the electricity supply to the Slovnaft refinery was cut off, as a result of which the entire production process was gradually shut down. Shutting down of  production units is always accompanied by the burning of raw material on flares, and an increased level of noise and odour depending on the weather conditions. These processes were controlled and safe.

After the restoration of electricity supplies, the gradual start-up of production units began, which will last several days. In the following days, the public may therefore repeatedly notice effects such as controlled burning on field burners, increased noise or odour. All start-up work is controlled.

The reasons for the failure of the electricity supply to the refinery are the subject of further investigation. We apologize to the residents from surrounding area of the refinery for the temporary reduction in comfort. Despite the burning on the flares and the subsequent, according to the measurements at our monitoring stations, the limit values of pollutants in the air were not exceeded. The emission values from Slovnaft air monitoring stations can be examined by the general public at official website of Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute in the air quality services section. Information is also publicly available via the Sused Slovnaft application.

At the same time, we would like to thank all colleagues at the production units and related operations, as well as the factory fire department for the excellent handling of the emergency, in which there were no injuries. We thank the representatives of the surrounding districts and municipalities for their flexible cooperation in informing the public.

The periodic table of elements scrabble and Trixi the Spy attracted
dozens of children to the Refinery Gallery

• almost two hundred pupils enjoyed fun with chemistry and history at the end of the school year in the design factory Slovnaft College
• cooperation with schools is part of Slovnaft's complex education support strategy
• besides to children and youth, Slovnaft also supports teachers

Bratislava, June 26, 2023 – To come closer to chemistry, refinery, but also physics, mathematics, history or architecture. At the end of the school year, almost 200 pupils from Bratislava primary schools had the opportunity to approach the world of science and technology at the design factory Slovnaft College event in the Refinery Gallery – the former brownfield area, refurbished and now used as an event place. To help children discover their talents, develop and gain knowledge, skills and self-confidence, Slovnaft works closely with schools and supports many activities for pupils and students.

The programme of the design factory Slovnaft College consisted of refinery bingo or scrabble for children to create words from chemical symbols, measure the pH and managing a refinery column, or playing Trixi the Spy, who played a key role in the bombing of the former Bratislava Apollo refinery. It was prepared by the civic association design factory, which has long been researching industrial architecture and its conversions, i.e. changing the purpose for which it is used. "By managing the Refinery Gallery building, a former production hall that now serves a different purpose than its original one, we decided to introduce children to the historical context. At the same time, we present the work of architects, designers, but also the world of preparing cultural events that currently fill this space," says Ivica Horáková, Event manager of the design factory.  The programme also included tasks, games and competitions in the field of chemistry and industrial digital applications prepared for children by Slovnaft employees. Watch and experience the atmosphere of the event in a short video: design factory Slovnaft College.

Cooperation with the design factory is part of Slovnaft's complex strategy to support schools, education and development of children and youth. "At Slovnaft, we believe that chemistry is anything but boring. If it has a spark and is taught with passion, it can already attract children in schools. In addition, through understanding the processes in a refinery, children learn a realistic understanding of a technology that humanity has developed and reached a certain evolutionary stage thanks to it. This knowledge allows them to better understand the complexity of issues such as energy availability, the earth, the climate, humanity, quality of life and how all these topics are interrelated and need to be seen in their entirety," explains Anton Molnár, the company's Spokesperson. Activities and support stretch across the whole school system – from primary to secondary and higher education. For more than 10 years, the Crime Chemistry and Mini-Chemistry competitions have been opening up the adventurous horizons of chemistry to schoolchildren, based on crime-solving through chemical experiments. The participation of more than 100 schools in the last round of the Crime Chemistry is a testimony to its success. Behind the acronym ME-PO-TE there are inter-school comparative tests. They reveal the structure of substances to young chemists and teach them the secrets of analytical chemistry. A new addition to school competitions is the Periodic Table of Nature, which seeks to answer the question of what components and chemical elements make up the nature around us. Participating schools will be given a small but well-equipped laboratory for their experiments, as well as equipment and water and soil samples.

Slovnaft also works with teachers. It is often on their shoulders where the responsibility of transferring their enthusiasm for their subject to the children lies. This year, almost a hundred chemistry teachers from various Slovak schools came to a seminar where they could delve deeper into the topics of the oil industry, ESG, the environment and the practical application of science graduates.

In addition to playful activities, Slovnaft develops cooperation with school youth and secondary schools by offering professional training and dual education. Pupils of chemical and technical high schools can practice directly at the refinery. The company also has a long-term cooperation with universities, where some of Slovnaft employees also lecture. Young people can receive up to 1,000 euros for their thesis on Slovnaft if they succeed in the competition Najdiplomovka (The Best Thesis), and the faculty that entered the thesis in the competition will also receive support.

About SLOVNAFT Group

SLOVNAFT Group is an integrated refining and petrochemical group. The key company of the Group is SLOVNAFT, a.s., which is mainly engaged in the processing of crude oil in one of the most complex European refineries and in the wholesale and retail sale of fuels. Slovnaft operates the largest network of petrol stations in the Slovak Republic. The company is one of Slovakia's leaders in CSR and corporate philanthropy, and significantly supports sports, culture, education, youth and environmental revitalisation. Forbes magazine ranked Slovnaft among the most valuable Slovak brands. SLOVNAFT Group is a member of the international MOL Group.

Contact for media:

Anton Molnár

Spokesperson and Head of Communications

tel: +421 905 393 161

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.