Prague, 19 th October 2010 – Having repeated the successes from previous years, the representatives of the Unipetrol Group won three awards out of four in this year’s PETROLawards. Benzina scored twice with its Verva Diesel premium fuel and new Retail Information System;Mr. Ivan Ottis, member of Unipetrol’s BoD, was named Personality of the Year.
PETROLawards are bestowed to companies or individuals for significant contribution to development in the field of crude oil processing, the petrochemical industry and filling stations. The decisions on the winners were made by a panel of judges supported by results of public internet voting.
Benzina’s Verva Diesel, a premium fuel with cetane number 60, the highest in the Czech market, was awarded in Products category. Moreover, the company succeeded also in the Technology and Operations category with its new retail information system. The Personality of the Year award was given to Ivan Ottis, a member of Unipetrol’s BoD responsible for refinery segment, for his long-term activities and contribution to Czech petroleum industry and trade.
In addition to the Petrolawards, the competition this year also included the three so-called Vox populi prizes given to projects based on the popular vote. In the Technology and Operations category Česká rafinérská won the prize for its improvement of energy efficiency of its FCC unit in Kralupy. In the Products category as well as Personality of the Year, the results were congruent with the decision made early by the panel of judges. In these categories, Benzina’s Verva Diesel and Mr. Ivan Ottis received the most votes.
Four Petrolawards and three Vox populi prizes were awarded in this year’s competition. The results are announced every year at the PETROLsummit conference, which was held this year on 14 th October in Prague. This year marks the fourth edition of this prestigious competition, which is organized annually by PETROLmedia magazine.
Companies in the Unipetrol Group won a total of three awards in last year’s PETROLawards competition. Česká rafinérská scored for modernisation of the LPG section in the Kralupy refinery and Benzina for the narrative publication “Benzina transformed through the ages”. The book won two awards – in public voting and also in terms of judging by the specialist panel.
UNIPETROL, a.s. controls companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 Unipetrol became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe. The Unipetrol Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the Unipetrol Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people.
BENZINA, spol. s r. o. as a part of UNIPETROL Group, is a trading company with the largest network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic. Currently, it operates more than 330 of them. These petrol stations have in their offer not only a high-quality additive fuel and premium fuel, but also additional assortment of Benzina goods and another services.
ČESKÁ RAFINÉRSKÁ, a.s. is the largest crude oil processing company and producer of oil products in the Czech Republic. It operates crude oil refineries in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou. It was founded on 28 April 1995 and is a joint-venture of Unipetrol, which owns 51.22 % of shares and foreign companies ENI (32,45 %) and Shell (16,33 %). Since 2003 it is operated as a procesing refinery.
Contact: Blanka Růžičková
Spokesperson for Unipetrol, a.s.
Telephone: +420 225 001 407, +420 731 881 111
E-mail: blanka.ruzickova@unipetrol.cz