Oltchim To Start Petrochemistry Operations At Arpechim By End-May

05.23.2011 By Andrei Circhelan

Romanian state-owned chemical plant Oltchim (OLT.RO) on Monday said it will start by the end of May the first petrochemistry installation at the Arpechim refinery, following an investment of EUR3.8 million.

Oltchim bought the Arpechim petrochemistry operations from OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) early-2010.

"This is just a first step in restarting the entire petrochemistry division at Arpechim, which we hope to accomplish in the near future," Oltchim general manager Constantin Roibu said in a news release.

The company official told MEDIAFAX the operation entailed an investment of EUR3.8 million, including upgrades, revisions and raw material costs.

The Arpechim platform includes a total 27 petrochemistry installations, all of them currently inactive.

The Arpechim refinery, owned by OMV Petrom, has a nominal capacity of some 3.5 million tons per year and it was initially designed as part of a petrochemical complex.

OMV Petrom plans to permanently shut down Arpechim in the near future, turning it into a storage facility for crude and oil products.

On the Bucharest bourse Monday, Oltchim shares rose almost 15% to RON0.7225.