ROMANIA: Petrom will test an innovative carbon capture and utilization facility at the Petrobrazi refinery
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OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in Southeast Europe, will test a new carbon capture and utilization technology at the Petrobrazi refinery, starting in June, according to a company press release.
The tests will take place over a period of 4 months, starting in June.
The tests are part of a demonstration campaign carried out in three countries – Denmark, Romania and Greece, within an innovation project financed with European funds – ConsenCUS.
The installation consists of three units. The first captures CO2 through a more efficient technology than traditional methods. In the second unit, high-purity CO2 is obtained, and finally, the third unit transforms the CO2 into a chemical product, potassium formate, with multiple uses, such as the production of synthetic fuels.
The installation was successfully tested in Denmark at a cement plant. From Romania, the installation will head to Greece, to a magnesium production plant.
“We want to actively contribute to the decarbonization of transport in Romania and we have two clear directions: reducing the emissions of the Petrobrazi refinery and creating products with a low and zero carbon content for our customers. We are now testing an innovative technology, which opens up new perspectives in Romania for capturing carbon emissions and transforming them into superior products”, says Radu Caprau, member of the OMV Petrom board, responsible for the refining and marketing activity.
ConsenCUS, which was initiated in 2021, is a 4-year innovation project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 program. The project aims to demonstrate the viability of a new technology applicable to sectors where reducing carbon emissions is difficult.
The project is run by a consortium of 19 leading research institutions and innovative companies: University of Groningen, New Energy Coalition (NL), Wetsus (NL), Coval Energy (NL), Technical University of Denmark (DK), Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (DK), Danish Gas Technology Center (DK), Aalborg Portland (DK), Heriot-Watt University (UK), Robert Gordon University (UK), Net Zero Technology Center Ltd (UK), British Geological Survey ( UK), Hellas Research and Technology Center, Grecian Magnezite (GR), OMV Petrom, Energy Policy Group (RO), Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN) and University of Calgary (CA).
OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy producer in South East Europe, with annual group crude oil and gas production of approximately 41 million boe in 2023. The group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tonnes annually and operates an 860 MW high-efficiency natural gas-fired power plant. On the retail oil products distribution market, the Group is present in Romania and neighboring countries through approximately 780 Gas Stations, under two brands – OMV and Petrom.
OMV Petrom is a company in which, at the end of 2023, Romanian shareholders own over 43% of the shares (of which the Romanian state, through the Ministry of Energy, owns 20.7%, and 22.5% is owned by Romanian pension funds, to which add almost 500,000 individual investors and other Romanian entities). OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies, owns 51.2% of OMV Petrom shares, with the remaining 5.6% held by other foreign investors. Of the total shares of OMV Petrom, 28.1% are freely traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
