Gdańsk oil refinery expansion

Overview:

• Lotos Group—a vertically integrated oil company—is developing EFRA − the Effective Refining Project, designed to maximise the volumes and quality of products obtained from each oil barrel at the Gdańsk refinery.
• Lotos Asfalt, a large producer of bitumen in Poland, has obtained financing for the construction of a delayed coker unit and accompanying installations at the Gdańsk oil refinery.
• The agreement includes an investment credit facility of up to Zl1.8 billion ($432 million) that is intended to provide a portion of the financing for the new investment project, and a working capital facility of up to Zl300 million ($73 million) for operating activity, payment of VAT, and refinancing of the existing debt of Lotos Asfalt.
• The new installations will enable Lotos Group to produce one million tonnes of high-margin petroleum products per annum, and the investment outlays relating to the project are estimated at Zl2.2 billion ($533 million).
• The project was the most important oil and gas project in Poland in 2015, requiring major structuring to combine its dependancy on the existing refinery owned by Lotos Group without any recourse to it.

Adam Majeed - Regional editor