Polish President Bronisław Komorowski visits Unipetrol’s refinery in Litvinov
During his official visit to the Czech Republic, President Bronisław Komorowski visited Unipetrol’s petrochemical complex in Litvinov, which is majority owned by the ORLEN Group.
The petrochemical company Unipetrol plays a vital role in the Czech industrial sector. The leading refiner and one of the top plastics producers, Unipetrol also operates the largest filling station network in the country. Since 2005, the company has been a member of the ORLEN Group. The Litvinov refinery provides customers in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, and Poland with feedstock for the production of packaging materials used in the construction, automotive, electrical, and agricultural sectors. It is a leading chemical producer on the domestic market and the twelfth-largest polymer producer in Europe.
- The acquisition of equity interests in the Czech-based Unipetrol over six years ago made us an industry leader in the region. Since the acquisition, we have demonstrated that PKN ORLEN is a strategic partner and a reliable investor with eyes set on promoting Unipetrol’s long-term growth and not merely on maximising short-term returns. Seeking to further strengthen our position, we are prepared for continued development and, indeed, the transformation of our company into a twenty-first-century energy conglomerate - said Jacek Krawiec, PKN ORLEN’s CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Unipetrol AS, while showing President Komorowski around the Litvinov facilities.
The assets owned by the Unipetrol Group include:
• three refineries with a processing capacity of 5.5m tonnes of crude per annum,
• three polyolefin production units with a capacity of 595 thousand tonnes per annum,
• a pyrolysis unit (steam cracker) with a capacity of 544 thousand tonnes per annum,
• over 335 filling stations, and
• a broad portfolio of transportation services.
The volume of its refinery and petrochemical production, as well as the workforce of over 4000 employees, are a telling illustration of the company’s position and the role it plays in the Czech economy. Unipetrol is also an important social partner in the northern Czech Republic – it sponsors a local school, an environmental awareness centre and a hockey club, in addition to a vast number of cultural events and social initiatives, which translates into more than CZK 60m in direct financial support for the region and the Benzina Litvinov hockey club.
“After Unipetrol had joined the ORLEN Group nearly six years ago, the level of its capital expenditure surged relative to prior periods. The company’s total CAPEX in 2005-2009 reached approx. CZK 19bn, over a threefold increase compared with 2000-2004. The active cooperation between ORLEN and Unipetrol boosted the company’s value on the Prague stock market by nearly 40%."
“Looking back at our investment in the Czech Republic, we can assert that nothing serves better to cement international trade relations as joint projects and harmonious business cooperation,” said Jacek Krawiec in his presentation on the Litvinov plant."
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The history of Litvinov-Záluží dates back to 1939, when a chemical factory was built (over 70 years ago). Then, in 1945, a refinery of mineral oils was launched. The grounds of Chempark Záluží cover an area of 8.4 sq. km, and include over 100 km of railway tracks, over 50 km of roads and nearly 1,200 buildings. The number of separate companies operating within the grounds is roughly 150, the most important of them being UNIPETROL RPA, the leading Czech producer of feedstock for refinery, petrochemical and agrochemical production (a business profile reflected in the acronym “RPA”, which stands for refinery, petrochemistry and agricultural chemistry). The company markets primarily motor fuels, olefins, aromatics, agrochemicals and polyolefins (high-density polyethylene and polypropylene).
Unipetrol wholly owns several other companies with strategically combined service portfolios:
• BENZINA the operator of the largest network of service stations in the Czech Republic.
• PARAMO a traditional producer of bitumen, lubricating oils, heating oils, fuels and other refinery products.
Other material interests:
• ČESKÁ RAFINÉRSKÁ, co-owned by Unipetrol (51.22%), Eni (32.445%) and Shell (16.335%), is the Czech Republic’s largest processor of crude oil and producer of refinery products, with a total annual capacity of 8.8 million tonnes of crude.
