MOL’s Croatian unit inaugurates upgraded refinery – photos

INA, the Croatian unit of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, inaugurated a EUR 700m upgrade of its refinery in Rijeka on Tuesday.

The investment will raise annual capacity of the refinery from 3 million to 4 million tonnes, while diesel production climbs by around 400,000 tonnes or 30pc. Ante Susnjar, Croatia’s economy minister, called the investment a “significant step” towards strengthening energy security in Croatia and the region.

Zsuzsanna Ortutay, who chairs INA’s board, said the project boosts the refinery’s efficiency and strengthens INA’s role as a regional supplier. By year-end, a commercial green hydrogen plant, Croatia’s first, could be built at the refinery, she added. MOL Group CEO József Molnár said the project “opens a new chapter” in INA’s refining activity.

An agreement on support for the EUR 60m green hydrogen plant was signed at the ceremony. The investment is getting up to EUR 15m from Croatia’s national Recovery and Resilience Facility Plan.

MOL owns a 49.1pc stake in INA, but exercises management rights in the company. The other big stakeholder is the state of Croatia with 44.8pc.

Speaking at the ceremony, Levente Magyar, Hungary’s deputy foreign minister, said Croatia and Hungary have had a “long, close” relationship, including in the area of energy.

He conceded that the relationship has not been without disputes and various disagreements over trade, but said the sides always try to resolve those. The relationship has “also brought close and ever-deepening cooperation”, he added.

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