The Minister of Energy, Bogdan Ivan, announced that he received official confirmation from the Government of the United States of America for the exemption from sanctions against Lukoil, so that Romania can restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, which, through this mechanism, will be able to operate again within 45 days.
„This is extremely important news: the fact that we have received official confirmation from the US Government for an exemption from sanctions against Lukoil so that Romania can restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery. It represents huge news for our country. Through this mechanism, in 45 days, this refinery will be able to operate again and produce diesel, gasoline, and kerosene for Romania. It is an extremely important step forward. 21% of Romania's production will be ensured by this refinery and it represents a key element in stabilizing the fuel market in Romania. There are currently only two countries worldwide, Germany and now Romania, that have achieved this feat.” declared the minister.
He added that, as a result, Romania will not depend so much on imports, it will produce all the gasoline it consumes and over 60% of diesel, as well as all aviation fuel, according to Agerpres.
„At the same time, we are more stable in the face of international price fluctuations, because when we are talking about diesel, which is bought at double the price of a month and a half ago, in Romania we have oil that is only 30 something percent more expensive, which automatically means that we will have lower prices than in the entire region. The fact that we have restarted the Petromidia Năvodari refinery, which is operating at full capacity and we are making sure that it will be operating for a year, that we have this new victory by restarting the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, is the best thing that could have happened for Romania at this time. And I want to be very clear: not a single gram of Russian oil will reach Romania, we are talking about oil that will arrive from other countries and, at the same time, not a single lion will reach the Russian Federation. We have a very clear mechanism put in place by the Romanian Ministry of Energy to supervise all operations, in order to ensure and give guarantees to the United States and the European Union that, through the Romanian Ministry of Energy, we are ensuring that all transactions will be clear and will have no connection whatsoever with Russia. It will only function operationally, in order to continue to maintain the network of gas stations, but above all to have the product on the market. And I did this after consulting with the most important energy people on the planet, the President of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, the World Economic Forum, Chris Wright, the US Secretary of Energy, and the most important global players”Bogdan Ivan explained.
The minister stated that he convinced them that if Romania manages to refine more oil, it ensures its energy security, as well as that of the region, because the fact that it currently produces twice as much gasoline as it consumes allows it to also sell to neighboring countries, which are thus no longer dependent on imports that used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The same situation applies to kerosene, whose production, being higher than our country's consumption, allows us to sell to European Union countries as well, which are now dependent by almost 50% on kerosene imports coming from the Middle East.
„This is a huge victory for Romania and it also ensures that we are not as dependent on imports as we were at the beginning of this conflict in the Middle East. It's perhaps the best news I could have given, as Minister of Energy, in recent weeks.” , said Ivan.
He also mentioned that a state of emergency is currently in effect throughout Romania, which gives the Minister of Energy and the Ministry of Economy the leverage to ensure that exports of oil and diesel fuel can only be made in NATO's interest and with very clear exceptions.
„So we have no other obligation. We are primarily interested in Romania and, through this success, we will have enough products in our country's market. (...) If the war stops tomorrow, for six to nine months, all countries in the world will have problems due to the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and the bombing in the Middle East. This gives us great resilience, because it's simpler to find crude oil, where we already have commitments and contracts, and where we will increase them during this period, than to import finished products directly, meaning diesel. It's a huge victory to ensure enough product in the market, and at the same time, it comes amid this increasingly practical partnership with the US administration, through which we also benefit the European Union by refining more on European Union territory and ensuring product availability. So, it's a big, a very big plus.” the Minister of Energy pointed out.