Slovnaft Refinery completed this year's maintenance and modernisation cycle

• the company has invested a total of €69 million in its assets this year
• a total of 33 refinery and petrochemical production units were shut down
• supply of customers was smooth and uninterrupted during the planned turnarounds

Bratislava, 30th of November 2022 – The Bratislava Slovnaft refinery comleted this year's cycle of planned maintenance and modernisation at the end of November. During the year, it gradually shut down 33 refinery and petrochemical production units in three phases. Slovnaft invested a total of EUR 69 million in the cleaning, maintenance and modernisation of its production facilities. As a result, they are safer and have a lower environmental burden. The planned shutdowns took the company two years to prepare, and more than 2,300 domestic and foreign external contractors were involved in cleaning, inspecting and repairing the refining and petrochemical facilities.

In the final, autumn phase, a turnaround was carried out on one diesel production unit, and another unit was only in a so-called process shutdown, which means that cleaning work on some equipment and minor repairs were carried out on it. Slovnaft's production started to run normally on 27 November 2022.

„Planned turnarounds have increased the safe and efficient operation of refining and petrochemical assets and reduced energy consumption. Even during turnarounds of half of the refinery assets, the supply to Slovnaft's service stations and wholesale customers was uninterrupted. At the same time, we had all works and activities planned in such a way as to minimize impact on the population living near the refinery," said Martin Bičan, Manager of Project Management and Planned Turnarounds at SLOVNAFT, a.s., Martin Bičan.

Watch the path of crude oil at the Slovnaft refinery. Ladislav Nagy, Head of Operation, is your guide through the heavily guarded critical infrastructure area: SLOVNAFT TV

This year's planned turnarounds started in March with the spring phase on nine production units and work was completed in early April. The summer phase, which lasted from May to July, was the most challenging. Twenty-one production units, including the Ethylene unit, were gradually shut down and restarted after the work had been carried out. The first phase of the modernisation project was carried out in this key part of the petrochemical plant, aimed at operational safety and life extension. A unique project in the summer turnaround was the replacement of the ageing atmospheric furnace on Atmospheric Distillation Unit 5 (AD5), which had been in operation since 1967, with a new one. At the same time, a column was replaced on AD5 to make the distillation process more efficient and reduce the risk of fire. The replacement of two pumps in the refinery's Circulation Centre has in turn brought a direct reduction in energy consumption. The annual electricity consumption within the Circulation Centre is expected to decrease by 6.7%. In the autumn part, which closed this year's cycle, the company focused on unit important for the production of diesel fuel, which is one of Slovnaft's key products for foreign markets as well.

About the production zone SLOVNAFT, a.s

The refining and petrochemical company in the south-eastern part of Bratislava covers an area of approximately 400 hectares. The production zone is divided into blocks with seven operational units, a railway, a logistics terminal, energy infrastructure and warehouses. Of the total area of the site, 270 hectares are grassed over and there are more than 10.000 trees growing there. Outside the main area is a mechanical-chemical-biological wastewater treatment plant, which is one of the largest ecological structures in the region. SLOVNAFT, a.s. is one of the three most modern refinery-petrochemical complexes in Europe. The EFPA (Environmental Fuel Project Apollo) complex is key for the refinery and the petrochemical part includes the state-of-the-art LDPE4 n polyolefin complex for polyethylene production and the PP3 production unit where polypropylene is produced.

About SLOVNAFT Group

The 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 person:
Anton Molnár
Spokesperson and Head of Communications
Tel: +421 905 393 161