The Minister of Energy, Bogdan Ivan, announced that he has received official confirmation from the Government of the United States of America granting a waiver from the sanctions against Lukoil, allowing Romania to restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, which, through this mechanism, will be able to resume operations within 45 days.
'This is extremely important news: we have received official confirmation from the US Government for a waiver from sanctions against Lukoil so that Romania can restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery. It is tremendous news for our country. Through this mechanism, within 45 days, this refinery will be able to operate again and produce diesel, petrol and kerosene for Romania. It is a highly significant step forward. This refinery will account for 21% of Romania's production and represents a key element in stabilising the fuel market in Romania. At present, only two countries worldwide - Germany and now Romania - have achieved this performance,' the minister told Antena 3 private television broadcaster on Tuesday evening.
He added that, as a result, Romania will rely less on imports, will produce all the petrol it consumes, more than 60% of its diesel, and all aviation fuel.
'At the same time, we are more stable in the face of international price fluctuations, because when we speak about diesel being purchased at twice the price compared to a month and a half ago, in Romania crude oil is only around 30% more expensive, which automatically means we will have lower prices than across the region. The fact that we have restarted the Petromidia Navodari refinery, which is operating at full capacity and will continue to do so for a year, together with this new achievement of restarting the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, represents the best possible outcome for Romania at this time. And I want to be very clear: not a single gram of Russian oil will enter Romania - we are talking about oil sourced from other countries - and at the same time, not a single leu will reach the Russian Federation. We have a very clear monitoring mechanism established by the Ministry of Energy to oversee all operations, ensuring and guaranteeing to both the United States and the European Union that all transactions are transparent and have no connection with Russia,' Ivan explained.
The minister also stated that he had convinced partners that if Romania succeeds in refining more oil, it ensures both its own energy security and that of the region, as currently it produces twice as much petrol as it consumes, enabling it to supply neighbouring countries, which will no longer depend on imports that previously passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The same applies to kerosene, where production exceeds domestic consumption, allowing Romania to supply other European Union states, which are currently almost 50% dependent on kerosene imports from the Middle East.
'This is a huge victory for Romania and ensures that we are not as dependent on imports as we were at the beginning of this conflict in the Middle East,' Ivan said.
He also mentioned that a state of emergency is currently in place in Romania, giving the Minister of Energy and the Ministry of Economy the authority to ensure that exports of oil and diesel are carried out only in NATO's interest and with very clear exceptions.
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