1 minuteIn view of Greece’s adoption of European Union directives on fuels which are essentially sulphur-free, the Board of HELLENIC PETROLEUM S.A. today agreed to upgrade the Thessaloniki Refinery, making it capable of producing fuel with strict environmentally-friendly specifications. The project, with a budget of €130m, builds on pre-investments in isomerisation and desulphurisation plants and is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
The improvement of the refinery involves vital modifications and additions to the distillation and desulphurisation plants and the storage and distribution units, and will see the existing old-technology naphtha plant (for the production of petrol) replaced by a new one employing the latest technology to purify fuel. The plant will employ the European Union’s Best Available Techniques (ΒΑΤ).
This is an environmental project achieving a significant improvement in energy yield while at the same time helping to ease the greenhouse effect and achieving a 55% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions and a 45% drop in suspended particles. Modern technology is improving the functionality of the plants and the safe operation of the refinery.
With the above programme, HELLENIC PETROLEUM S.A. is taking yet another step forward in Northern Greece, providing real support for the further strengthening of Thessaloniki as an economic and energy hub in the southern Balkans.