25-10-2017

European refineries towards a sustainable world

Hellenic Petroleum, one of the leading energy groups in South East Europe, will be co-hosting this year’s European Refining Technology Conference which takes place November 13th – 15th in Athens, Greece. Hellenic’s CEO, Grigoris Stergioulis, will be speaking about market demands and how to sustain a strong business in such a competitive environment. Mr Stergioulis will also address recent activities within the group.

Mediterranean refineries have been under continuing pressure to keep up with competition from the Middle East. Additionally, by having to cope with an arduous economic environment that involves higher salaries, energy costs, stricter environmental regulations and safety protocols, the only way to stay in business is through operational excellence.

The latter is collectively manifested in the term “over-performance”. This makes the difference between true operating margins and international benchmark margins. The five pillars to a healthy over-performance that will secure the sustainability of these refiners are as follows:
· High asset utilisation
· Energy efficiency
· Global optimisation among process sites and the various business units
· Crude slate enhancement
· Human capital development

At the conference, Mr Stergioulis will also speak about the initiatives undertaken in the last few years to secure refinery operation and keep Hellenic Petroleum afloat amidst a multitude of adverse events (such as deep recession in the domestic market and falling regional demand for oil products).
For example, Hellenic Petroleum has recently completed a project for the upgrade of the old Elefsina topping refinery into a modern hydrocracking refinery with zero fuel oil production. The group had to deal with significant changes in product volumes and slate that called for a more export-oriented approach by the company.

Finally, a joint venture comprising Total (operator), ExxonMobil and Hellenic Petroleum expressed interest in exploring for hydrocarbons in two offshore blocks, south of Crete. The Group aspired to contribute substantially to the efforts of the country to revert to steady growth rates and to becoming an energy hub of significant importance for the wider region o South East Europe. If indeed the existence of exploitable hydrocarbons is verified, it is certain that Greece will enter a new era with tangible benefits for the national economy and local communities, and will contribute to the geopolitical and energy upgrade of Greece.

Mr Stergioulis and other representatives of the group will take part in various technical presentations throughout the conference with the aim of inspiring and encouraging other businesses to be proactive, and to respond to their challenges with a flexible and resilient mindset.