Romania's Black Sea crude oil refinery Petromidia, the largest in the country, will shut down for a scheduled revision in March, its owner said on Tuesday, potentially squeezing fuel supply and putting upward pressure on prices.
The refinery is owned by Rompetrol Rafinare, which is majority-controlled by KMG International, part of Kazakh state oil firm KazMunayGaz.
The Romanian state holds a 45 per cent stake. The refinery sources crude oil from Kazakhstan.
It will be shut down for 20 days in March, Rompetrol Rafinare said. "Throughout this period, the company will continue to meet its contractual obligations, with deliveries of petroleum products to customers being ensured from its own stocks or with the support of the KMG International Group's trading division," it said in a statement.
Apart from Petromidia, the European Union state also has the Petrobrazi refinery, owned by oil and gas group OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria's OMV.
A third refinery, owned by Russia's Lukoil has stopped working as a result of international sanctions, reducing the country's supply capacities by a fifth, the energy ministry said, adding the missing supply can be replaced by the remaining market players.
Apart from the refinery, Lukoil also has 320 petrol stations in Romania and holds offshore exploration rights in a section of the Black Sea. The government plans to put Lukoil's Romanian assets under state oversight, similar to moves in other EU states like Bulgaria, to ensure the companies continue operating without breaking sanctions.
Lukoil holds an 85 per cent stake in the Trident and Est Rapsodia blocks in the Black Sea, with Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz holding a minority share. Lukoil's exploration licence expires in the first half of 2026.
Earlier in February, Lukoil invoked force majeure saying it would not be able to continue offshore exploration, a Bucharest court document showed.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
