In the year of the pandemic that shook oil companies around the world, NIS managed to ensure the stability of supply and realized key investments. With the opening of “Deep Processing”, the Pancevo Refinery has become the leading oil refinery in the region. NIS General Manager Kiril Tyurdenev spoke for RTS about the pans for 2021.
With a business plan for this year worth 175 million euros, NIS announces new investments.
– We will continue to invest in the Refinery. The next important project is the modernization of the catalytic cracking plant, which will enable the production of additional products, including higher production of propylene. That project is worth 80 million dollars and we will do it in the coming years.
With Deep Processing, do you guarantee the European quality of which derivatives to drivers?
– We have been producing gasoline and diesel of European quality for a long time, since the first modernization of the refinery complex in 2012. We will continue their production in the future, and Deep Processing allows us to obtain larger quantities of fuel that have the highest value on the market. The Deep Processing Complex also has environmental benefits – we have stopped producing fuel oil with a high sulfur content and reduced the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, which will improve the ecological picture not only of Pancevo, but of our entire country.
You promise drivers the highest quality derivatives, but drivers are also interested in prices, what is predicted?
– This year has just shown that no one can predict the price of oil. It is a global market that depends on a huge number of factors. For example, we import two thirds of the oil we process, and we produce only one third in Serbia. That is why we depend on price movements on world markets. However, by increasing the efficiency of work and reducing the costs of the Company, we have preserved the stability of both the price and the domestic market.
How did “Covid-19” affect the business of NIS, what are the further plans of the Company?
– Covid-19 itself, along with macroeconomic circumstances at the global level, had a very negative impact on the Company. Falling oil prices, restrictions imposed in the country, have had a major economic impact. However, the company continued with the realization of key investment projects and in the period January-September last year, invested more than 150 million euros. Also, relying on internal resources, we have provided regular salaries for all employees, we have paid a dividend for our shareholders – for 2019. The most important thing is that in the challenging period, we preserved the stability of the company on the market while taking care of the health of employees and consumers, RTS reports.
