As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes on the 1st of October, 2020, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has recently issued a positive decision on INA's project to modernise the Rijeka refinery in the part related to the environmental impact assessment of that investment. This is another step towards the realisation of the largest investment for the Croatian economy in recent years, worth a massive four billion kuna, which, according to announcements from INA, will place the Rijeka Refinery among the most modern refineries in the world.

Behind the phrase ''the modernisation of the Rijeka refinery'' is actually the construction of a coking complex with a port, storage and transport system.

''The main goals of the INA Rijeka Oil Refinery, which the planned second phase of modernisation, ie the implementation of the Heavy Residue Treatment Programme, seeks to achieve, are the higher production of low-sulfur gasoline and diesel fuels, the cessation of heavy fuel oil production, the reduction of the amount of total harmful emissions from the refinery site, and the production of fuel according to newer EU standards,'' it was stated in the study that INA submitted to the Ministry of Economy in the procedure of obtaining that solution launched in May this year.

The final decision of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of INA on the beginning of the second phase of the modernisation of the Rijeka refinery was made last December. "INA's investment of four billion kuna is the most beautiful Christmas gift for the Croatian energy system."

This euphoria is far from surprising because it is known that the modernisation of the refineries in Rijeka and Sisak was one of the obligations that MOL undertook by buying the first 25 percent of INA shares way back in 2003. This obligation was included in the famous inter-shareholder agreement from 2009.

From the documentation submitted by INA to the Ministry of Economy in the procedure of obtaining that decision on the impact of the modernisation of the Rijeka refinery on the environment, it is evident that INA addressed the then Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction back in 2009.

INA confirmed that obtaining this decision from the Ministry of Economy is one of the steps towards the construction of a plant for the treatment of heavy residues at the Rijeka refinery.

''Considering the fact that the project of construction of a plant for processing heavy residues implies obtaining a series of location and construction permits, these processes should be completed in the middle of next year,'' announced INA. A warning from the decision of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development is on the same track.

''This decision ceases to be valid if INA failts to submit a request for the issuance of a location permit within two years from the day of execution of the decision,'' it was noted in the decision of the Ministry of Economy.

On the occasion of the final decisions of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of INA on entering the 4 billion kuna investment in the Rijeka refinery, Croatia's largest company announced that the processing plant should start operating in 2023. Although it should be understood that these announcements were made before the coronavirus crisis took hold, which stopped almost all investments in the country for at least three months this year.

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As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of December, 2019, according to INA, the decision on a heavy-waste treatment facility comes one year after the announcement of INA's R&M New Direction 2023 program, which aims to transform INA's refining system to generate profits instead of losses.

Today, INA made a decision to invest a massive four billion kuna in a heavy waste treatment plant at the Rijeka Oil Refinery. As was explained during an extraordinary press conference in Zagreb, the company's supervisory board gave its prior approval for the construction of the Heavy Duty Processing Facility in Rijeka, and INA's management board then made a unanimous decision on the investment. Works on the new plant will begin early next year, they say, and it is expected to start operating at some point in 2023.

Sándor Fasimon, CEO of INA, said the decision on the heavy-duty processing plant marks an important step in the implementation of the R&M New Direction 2023 program, as well as an important moment in the company's history as it is the largest investment INA has made in decades.

"With this decision, the Rijeka Oil Refinery will be transformed into a modern European refinery while ensuring that INA maintains a leading position on the market. It's a major investment that will significantly affect the company's operations in the future," said Fasimon.

The chief executive officer of the MOL Group and the deputy chairman of INA's supervisory board commented that this decision confirms the MOL Group's commitment to INA. "By constructing a heavy waste treatment plant, we'll significantly increase the complexity and efficiency of the Rijeka refinery. I firmly believe that this investment will have a significant positive impact on the company's profitability in the future,'' said Molnar.

Tomislav Ćorić, Minister of Environment and Energy, said that the announcement of about four billion kuna in investment over the next three years is the most wonderful Christmas gift to Croatia that could be expected.

''Today's decision to launch the modernisation project of the Rijeka Oil Refinery is a major step forward. This is one of the biggest investments in our energy sector and I'm glad that it was realised precisely during the term of this current government. This investment will improve the product structure of Rijeka, increase profitability and improve the company's competitiveness in the field of environmental protection by significantly reducing CO2 and other harmful gases,'' stated Minister Ćorić.

A year ago, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković promised us a "Christmas present" in the form of an announcement that Croatia would go ahead with the purchase of MOL's stake in INA.

According to INA, and as previously mentioned, the decision on this treatment facility comes one year after the announcement of the R&M New Direction 2023 program. The program includes the concentration of crude oil processing activities in the Republic of Croatia at the Rijeka Oil Refinery and, as part of this, the conversion of the Sisak Oil Refinery into an industrial centre that will cover the production of bitumen, which was approved in March this year and is set to launch in 2021.

Still to come is a logistics hub and, potentially, lubricant production and even a bio-component refinery. With the implementation of all activities covered by the INA R&M New Direction 2023 program, after 2023, INA expects an average annual EBITDA growth of over 1 billion kuna in total.

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