Mega-investment continues with trial operation – INA's Rijeka oil refinery expanded with new processing units

Over the past year and a half, construction work has been carried out while existing plant units continued to operate, resulting in the refinery's longest period of uninterrupted operation in the past fifteen years.

A new plant unit was built and the existing ones were modernised.

A plant for processing heavy oil residues was built as part of the project. Existing refinery units were modernised, and a new port, silos, a closed coke handling and transport system, and a high-capacity electrical substation to supply power to the new plant were also constructed.

During construction, 9,400 tonnes of steel were used and 581 kilometres of cable network were installed. Five football pitches worth of new concrete surfacing were also laid, and the refinery's machinery was expanded with 500 new pieces of equipment.

Together, these developments represent a comprehensive renewal of the refinery complex and elevate the facility to one of the most modern refineries in the region.

Preparing for trial operation

In the current final phase, comprehensive technical and safety checks, system tests and the procedures necessary to obtain an operating licence are being carried out prior to trial operation, before full-capacity commercial production begins. According to the announcement, with the commissioning of the new unit, INA will primarily increase diesel fuel production by up to 30 per cent and also expand the production of other high value-added distillates.

Significantly reducing the industry's dependence on imports

The company will continue to focus on securing supplies to Croatia and key regional markets – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia. The development will eliminate the need to import vacuum gas oil (VGO) for the production process, which is typically of Russian origin on the European market, further strengthening energy security and reducing import dependency. The investment in Rijeka is part of INA's refinery modernisation programme, which has been ongoing for more than a decade. As a member of the MOL Group, the company has spent a total of more than EUR 1 billion on refinery and logistics developments during this period. Mol owns 49.08 per cent of INA, while the Croatian state owns 44.84 per cent.