Croatia's INA to halt Rijeka refinery operations for Nov-Apr upgrades

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Croatian oil and gas group INA said Wednesday it will suspend operations at the country's sole oil refinery in Rijeka for upgrade works from November until the beginning of April next year.

INA is investing more than HRK 4 billion ($521 million, €532 million) to upgrade the Rijeka oil refinery, the largest and most expensive industrial project in Croatian history, according to SeeNews, which reports on news and business intelligence for Southeast Europe.

The report, which cites company officials, said operations need to be temporarily halted to connect the refinery's existing facilities to newly constructed units and for that reason, several suspensions have been planned for the period of upgrade works.

The upgrade of the refinery has been ongoing since 2020.

Hungarian energy company MOL holds a 49.08% stake in INA, while the Croatian government owns 44.84%.

INA denied earlier this year that the country is heading for petrol shortages due to the international sanctions against Russia after local media reported in June that Croatia was facing a shortage of diesel and gasoline due to the EU embargo on Russian oil.

INA said, however, that no shortages were expected.

"With the production in the Rijeka Refinery (in northern Adriatic), INA secures enough petrol for the domestic needs. INA also provides the supply of diesel, partly from its own production and partly from the Mediterranean market and it, therefore, does not depend on Russian oil," the company said.