OMV Petrom Advances SAF/HVO Project At Petrobrazi Refinery

OMV Petrom's EUR 560 million bet on sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel is moving from blueprint to physical reality at its Petrobrazi refinery in Romania, with towering processing equipment now standing on foundations built from roughly 20,000 cubic meters of poured concrete.

A Refinery in Transformation

Petrobrazi has seen a succession of upgrades in recent years, a new sulphur recovery unit commissioned in December 2025, modernization works completed in February 2026, and a photovoltaic project announced earlier that same year. The sustainable aviation fuel and hydrotreated vegetable oil unit now under construction dwarfs all of them in financial terms, representing the single largest capital commitment in the refinery's recent history. Radu Căprău, a member of the OMV Petrom Executive Board, framed the investment in terms of structural change at the site.

"Petrobrazi is going through one of the most important transformations in its recent history," he said. "With a EUR 560 million investment, we are building a new unit that will produce 250,000 tonnes per year of sustainable fuels made from renewable feedstocks. This is a project through which we are gradually adapting Petrobras to the new requirements of the market and of the energy transition, including through the development of sustainable fuels production."

Equipment Rising to 60 Meters

Ground was broken on the project in 2025, and construction has now reached the stage where specialized columns and reactors, among the most critical components of the processing unit, have been delivered and installed at the refinery. Some of this equipment reaches heights of up to 60 meters within the refinery complex. The concrete foundation work required to support the unit involved pouring approximately 20,000 cubic meters of material before the main equipment could be mounted.

Upcoming construction phases will focus on installing additional equipment and integrating the new unit with Petrobras ' existing refinery infrastructure. An extensive testing and verification program is then planned before operations begin. The company has set a commissioning target of 2028.

What the Plant Will Make and How

At full capacity, the facility will produce 250,000 tonnes of sustainable fuels annually. Its primary outputs are sustainable aviation fuel, known as SAF, and hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO, which functions as a renewable diesel. The unit has been designed with flexibility across both feedstocks and products, meaning output can also be directed toward bio-naphtha and bio-LPG depending on market conditions and feedstock availability. The production process converts vegetable fats and used cooking oils into fuels that are chemically comparable to conventional petroleum-derived products.

Green hydrogen is central to that conversion process. OMV Petrom states that the resulting fuels deliver a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of at least 65 percent compared to fossil fuel equivalents over their lifecycle. The company has identified aviation and heavy transport as the intended end-use sectors, describing them as industries where electrification poses particular difficulties.

Green Hydrogen Built In from the Start

Because the SAF and HVO production process depends on green hydrogen, OMV Petrom has developed dedicated electrolysis infrastructure at Petrobrazi alongside the main fuels unit. The hydrogen-related investment amounts to approximately 190 million euros. Two electrolyzer projects account for that capacity. Modules for a 20 megawatt electrolyzer arrived at the site earlier in 2026, followed in August 2026 by the delivery of modules for a larger 35 megawatt unit. Together, the two electrolyzers give Petrobrazi a combined green hydrogen production capacity of 55 megawatts.

First in the Region

OMV Petrom, which describes itself as the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe, says the Petrobrazi investment will establish the refinery as the first major producer of sustainable fuels in the region. The claim rests on the combination of production scale — 250,000 tonnes per year — and the integrated green hydrogen supply being built directly into the site, rather than relying on externally sourced inputs.