Zarubezhneft readying Bosnia & Herzegovina river terminal for oil product
MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax) - A Zarubezhneft delegation led by General Director Nikolai Brunich has completed a visit to Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the company said on its web site.
One goal of the visit was to appraise the situation at the Bosanski Brod Oil Refinery following maintenance, which will reduce internal oil product losses. The refinery has also launched operation of a unit for removing sulfur from residual gases and a unit for producing liquid sulfur, which were needed to improve the plant's environmental profile.
The Zarubezhneft delegation also examined the terminal on the Sava River, which has been cleared for operations by regulators. Work on registering the border-crossing point is underway, which will make it possible to begin delivering oil product via river vessels.
The delegation also took part in opening one of three new Zarubezhneft filling stations, which operate under the NESTRO brand.
Brunich also met with the Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. They discussed the strategy for further development of the refinery and renovation of the filling station chain, as well as cooperation in the cleanup of the Sava River and construction of a railroad.
Zarubezhneft plans to invest about 1 billion euro in projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It plans to raise refining volumes at the Bosanski Brod refinery to 4.2 million tonnes a year, to boost motor oil output at the Modrich plant to 76,000 tonnes and to increase the number of filling stations to 250.
Neftegazinkor, a company in the Zarubezhneft group, acquired Bosanski Brod Oil Refinery, the Modrich motor oil plant and filling station operator Petrol in Banja Luka in February 2007 for 121 million euro. The company launched operation of a first line at the refinery in November 2008. Refinery operations will be raised to full capacity in 2010.