Romania’s largest refinery to shut down in March for overhaul

Romania's Black Sea crude oil refinery Petromidia, the largest in the country, will shut down for a scheduled revision in March, its owner said on Tuesday, potentially squeezing fuel supply and putting upward pressure on prices.

The refinery is owned by Rompetrol Rafinare, which is majority-controlled by KMG International, part of Kazakh state oil firm KazMunayGaz.

The Romanian state holds a 45 per cent stake. The refinery sources crude oil from Kazakhstan.

It will be shut down for 20 days in March, Rompetrol Rafinare said. "Throughout this period, the company will continue to meet its contractual obligations, with deliveries of petroleum products to customers being ensured from its own stocks or with the support of the KMG International Group's trading division," it said in a statement.

Apart from Petromidia, the European Union state also has the Petrobrazi refinery, owned by oil and gas group OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria's OMV.