Upgrading to improve competitiveness

Lotos group, Poland's second-largest oil firm, has launched a technological-upgrade investment in its Rafineria Gdańska refinery under the auspices of its Comprehensive Technical Development Programme (PKRT). The modernization program will allow the refinery to increase the amount of oil processed to 10.5 million tonnes annually from its current annual capacity of six million tonnes.

The facility's improved production will focus more on higher-quality fuel, as well as diesel fuel. "The refinery is to join the ranks of the most modern in Europe," said Marek Sokołowski, COO of Lotos and vice president of its management board.

The investment in the refinery will take place over a series of stages and should be completed by Q3 2010. "The majority of the contracts have already been signed," said Sokołowski. The budget for the investment is expected to reach zł.5.6 billion, 30 percent of which will come from the company's own funds and the rest from loans. "We want to secure financing by Q3 or Q4 of this year," noted Sokołowski. The group will also expand the refinery's workforce by 130 people.

The PKRT program falls within the framework of the group's 2006-2012 strategy, whose key targets include increasing oil extraction from 256,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes annually, diversification of energy supplies and expansion of its share in the oil-retailing market from seven to 10 percent. Under the strategy, annual revenue is expected to increase from zł.13 billion to zł.20 billion.