| Arpechim Refinery | |
| Altitude: | 2200NaN0 |
| Building Type: | Oil refinery |
| Location: | Pitești, Argeș County |
| Owner: | Petrom |
| Completion Date: | 1964 |
| Height: | 180 metres (chimney) |
| Floor Area: | 500ha |
Arpechim Refinery was one of the largest Romanian refineries and one of the largest in Europe, located in Pitești, Argeș County, and had both refining and petrochemical capacities.[1] It was closed in 2011.[2] The refinery had two processing modules with a nominal capacity of 6.5 million tonnes/year.[1] The facility was connected by pipeline to the oil fields in the Oltenia Region and to the Port of Constanţa.[1] The refinery produced around 60% of all the bitumen used in Romania.[3]
Arpechim was founded in 1964 in a strategic industrial zone located in Southern Romania near Pitești.[4] In the same year the refinery built its first plant specialised in the production of carbon black.[4] In 1967 another two distinct units were established, the Pitești Refinery and the Petrochemical Complex (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Rafinăria Piteşti şi Complexul petrochimic) and the Thermal Power Station (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Termocentrala).[4] In 1971 the refinery was integrated with the Petrochemical Complex. In 1997 the state established Petrom as the national oil company also including the Arpechim Refinery.[4] In 1999 Arpechim becomes the first refinery in Europe to produce and export diesel with a reduced sulfur content.[4] In 2005 the refinery concludes the building of a new gasoil hydrotreater and new hydrogen plant.[4]
In 2007, Petrom started negotiations with Oltchim (a major petrochemical company in Romania) for the sale of the petrochemical sector from the Arpechim Refinery.[5] The two companies agreed on the transaction and Oltchim had to pay around US$ 150 million to close the deal.[5] On February 17, 2009, Petrom decided to sell the petrochemical sector of the Arpechim Refinery to Oltchim for the price of 1 euro (US$ 1.25), but the buying company has to invest US$ 140 million in the sector due to contract clauses.[6]
The Arpechim Refinery closed in 2011. EUR 52m was allocated by OMV in 2022 for remedial work to the soil on the old site.[7]