Unipetrol Group, thanks to its majority shares in Česká rafinérská and in Paramo being the largest motor fuel producer in the Czech Republic, and via its subsidiaries Benzina, Unipetrol RPA, Unipetrol Doprava and Petrotrans is participating significantly also in the sale and distribution of the fuels, is ready to fulfil stricter qualitative parameters. The refineries of the Group, Česká rafinérská (producing also for Shell and ENI with its Agip petrol stations) and Paramo, completed the transfer to sulphur-free fuel with a content of sulphur lower than 10 ppm in the first half of 2008. “Super-clean” fuel has thus been sold by all Benzina stations for several months already . “Unipetrol feels its responsibility. 70% of all the fuel sold on the Czech market comes from refineries of the Group and our petrol stations network has the largest market share in the Czech Republic,“ said François Vleugels, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unipetrol.
Refineries of the Group invested more than CZK 1.8 billion*) in the sulphur-reducing modifications during last years. Česká rafinérská has launched preparation for the “super-clean” fuel already from 2003, changing over to the full production in April 2008. Necessary technological adaptations, including in particular modification of the hydrogenic refineries, were made in refineries both in Kralupy nad Vltavou and Litvínov. The construction of the selective desulphurization unit in the refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou, which was a part of the Clean Fuel investment programme was awarded in October this year in PETROLAward 08 for the most significant technological deed in the crude oil refinery. “Česká rafinérská ranks among the modern European refineries. Apart from investments which responded to the development of the European legislation related to fuels quality and protection of the environment, the company has invested in recent years also in programmes related to the change of demand for refinery products, i.e. especially in the reinforcement of the production of diesel oil and raw materials for the petrochemical related production,“ said Ivan Souček, CEO of Česká rafinérská.
*) Unipetrol costs: CZK 940 milions
The sulphur content is, together with the share of the bio-component, one of the 17 criteria used for evaluation of the fuel quality at petrol stations within the single European monitoring system. The Czech Republic has joined this system as early as 2001. Operations of the Group strive to promote high market standards and push adherence to quality via the professional association ČAPPO (Czech Association of Petrochemical Industry and Trade). In independent tests of fuel quality, the association member companies achieve better results than other vendors.
Both Česká rafinérská and Paramo have their own quality control system. They monitor the fuel quality continuously during the entire production process, with high attention given to the output control. Benzina, supplied by them from 95 per cent, makes its own random inspections. Within the network of its own petrol stations, it takes and has tested more than 1,500 samples per year. This year, the Czech Trade Inspectorate has taken also more than 200 samples from the Benzina network and found no defects in any of them.
“The delivery system and internal regulations exclude, in practise, a possibility that low quality fuel appears in the Benzina network. Activities of the Group comprise of the integrated chain of production, transportation and sales of the engine fuel, which facilitates an efficient quality control from the beginning of the production process to the sales at our petrol stations,“mentioned Martin Durčák, the managing director of Benzina, retail-responsible member of the Board of Directors of Unipetrol.
Starting from 1.1.2009 the legislation also prescribes to increase the mandatory share of bio-components in the motor fuels from the current two per cent to at least 3.5 per cent for gasoline and at least 4.5 per cent for diesel.
Česká rafinérská and Paramo started to mix in the rape oil methylesther to the diesel already since 1 September 2007. And since this January bio-ethanol is being added in gasoline. Both companies together invested in the required equipment and technological adaptation more than a quarter of a billion Czech crowns. This year, the share of bio-components in the fuel ranges in the CR around 2.1 per cent for gasoline and approximately 2.4 per cent for diesel oil. “We are ready to increase the addition of bio-components. However, we would appreciate a mitigation of sanctions which are too strict in terms of a narrow interval of 4.5 to 5 per cent which will have to meet for diesel oil starting from the New Year’s Day,“ said Ivan Ottis, the member of the Board of Directors of Unipetrol, responsible for the refinery segment, and CEO of Paramo.
UNIPETROL, a.s. controls companies which operate in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 UNIPETROL became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, which is the largest crude oil processor in the Central Europe. UNIPETROL Group focuses in particular on crude oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all these areas, UNIPETROL Group ranks among significant players both in the market of the Czech Republic and Central Europe. In the Czech Republic, the Group is among leading companies in terms of turnover and employs approximately 4,500 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.
PARAMO, a.s. is a crude oil processing company focusing on the production of fuel, greases and asphalt. It is a member of the Unipetrol Group since 2000, in the first half of 2008 the company employed 770 people. So far, Unipetrol has an ownership share in Paramo amounting to 91.77%
UNIPETROL RPA, s.r.o., covers production and wholesale activities of Unipetrol in refinery, petrochemistry and agrichemical production. In its current form it has been operating since 1. 8. 2007, when it was formed via a merger of Chemopetrol, Unipetrol Rafinérie and Unipetrol RPA.
UNIPETROL DOPRAVA, s.r.o., provides railway transport of goods and all the related services not only for companies from the Unipetrol Group, but also for other clients. It specializes in the transportation of chemical products, uses its own trains and within the Czech nationwide railway network it is the largest freight transporter of fuels. With its approximately twenty per cent in the total railway freight transport, it is the second largest transporting company in the CR (after ČD Cargo). It has been operating on the transport market already since 1996, as an independent company since 2001.
PETROTRANS, spol. s.r.o., engages in the special tank haulage, in particular a transportation of liquid oil substances. It ranks among the largest hauliers of fuel in the CR, covering the entire territory of the republic and areas near frontiers with neighbouring countries. The company has more than 80 cistern trailer trucks and separate trucks, all of them complying with the international ADR standards on transport of dangerous goods.
Contact:
Blanka Růžičková
Spokesperson
UNIPETROL, a. s.
Phone: +420 225 001 407, +420 731 881 111
E-mail: blanka.ruzickova@unipetrol.cz