BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 22. Croatia’s INA,
part of Hungary’s MOL Group, has successfully started up a new
Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) at its Rijeka Refinery, marking a major
milestone in the nearly 700 million-euro refinery upgrade project,
MOL Group said.
Feedstock was introduced into the unit on September 1, following
the completion of commissioning and the transfer of operational
responsibility to INA. The DCU has since operated continuously and
has reached around 70% of its design capacity, while all key
products have been produced at the required quality.
"The new unit enables the Rijeka refinery to process heavy
residues and convert them into higher-value products. According to
MOL Group, the same volume of crude oil can now yield up to 30%
more diesel," the company said.
The upgrade also allows the refinery to process heavier crude
grades, significantly expanding its potential crude supply base. In
addition, the DCU eliminates the refinery’s need to import vacuum
gas oil (VGO), increasing the flexibility of its operations and
strengthening crude supply security.
INA President and Management Board Chair Zsuzsanna Ortutay said
the successful start-up of the DCU would improve the sustainability
and profitability of the company’s refining operations, while
supporting energy security and a more stable supply for customers
in Croatia and the wider region.
MOL Group Executive Vice President for Downstream Gabriel Szabó
said the start-up marked an important step in INA’s refining
transformation, adding that greater production flexibility would
enable the refinery to respond more effectively to changing global
energy-market conditions.
The Rijeka Refinery Upgrade Project represents an investment of
nearly 700 million euros. INA and MOL Group have invested a
combined 1.3 billion euros in refining and logistics infrastructure
modernization over the past 12 years.
The companies are now focused on ensuring safe and stable
operation of the DCU, gradually increasing throughput and
optimizing its performance. Stable operation is expected by the end
of 2026, after which final performance tests will be carried out as
part of the project’s closing activities.
The Rijeka upgrade is part of MOL Group’s broader strategy to
strengthen the competitiveness and flexibility of its refining
system in Central and Eastern Europe. MOL operates an integrated
oil and gas business spanning exploration and production, refining
and petrochemicals, wholesale and retail, with refining assets in
Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia.
MOL Group’s refining and petrochemical network includes the
Danube Refinery in Hungary, the Slovnaft refinery in Slovakia and
INA’s refineries in Rijeka and Sisak in Croatia. The company has
been investing in the modernization and flexibility of these assets
to adapt its refining system to changing crude supply and
product-market conditions.
The Rijeka project is also being implemented alongside INA’s
investments in the energy transition. The company is constructing
Croatia’s first green hydrogen production plant, while a steam
back-pressure turbine installation has also been completed at the
refinery.
Once fully operational, the upgraded Rijeka Refinery is expected
to become one of the most modern refining facilities in the region,
with increased flexibility in crude processing and a greater
ability to produce higher-value petroleum products.
The key strategic point is that the DCU is not simply an
additional processing unit. It changes the refinery’s crude slate
and product yield: Rijeka can process heavier crude, convert
previously lower-value heavy residues into more valuable products,
increase diesel production by up to 30% from the same crude volume,
and eliminate VGO imports. This makes the project particularly
relevant to refinery profitability and regional supply security,
rather than just capacity expansion.
