{"id":9739,"date":"2026-04-15T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=9739"},"modified":"2026-04-15T08:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:00:24","slug":"petrotel-lukoil-refinery-in-romania-to-resume-operations-after-us-approval-energy-minister-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=9739","title":{"rendered":"Petrotel-Lukoil refinery in Romania to resume operations after US approval, energy minister says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Romania is set to restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery within 45 days after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, energy minister <strong>Bogdan Ivan<\/strong> announced. The move is expected to boost domestic fuel production and reduce reliance on imports amid the Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is extremely important news: we have received official confirmation from the US government for a waiver from the sanctions against Lukoil, allowing Romania to restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery. It is a huge piece of news for our country. Through this mechanism, within 45 days, the refinery will be able to operate again and produce diesel, gasoline, and kerosene for Romania,\u201d minister Ivan told local news channel Antena 3 CNN, as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/agerpres.ro\/economic\/2026\/04\/14\/ivan-rafinaria-petrotel-lukoil-va-putea-sa-functioneze-din-nou-in-45-de-zile--1546611\" target=\"_blank\">Agerpres<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis refinery will ensure 21% of Romania\u2019s production and represents a key element in stabilizing the fuel market. At present, only two countries in the world &#8211; Germany and now Romania &#8211; have achieved this performance,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The government also expects the move to strengthen energy security, allowing Romania to produce all the gasoline it consumes and more than 60% of its diesel needs, the minister also said.<\/p>\n<p>The refinery, operated by Lukoil, will resume operations under a mechanism that ensures compliance with international sanctions, with Bogdan Ivan stressing that no Russian oil will be used and no funds will flow to Russia. Instead, crude oil will be sourced from alternative suppliers, under strict oversight by the Romanian government.<\/p>\n<p>The decision comes as Romania seeks to mitigate the impact of geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions, including those linked to the Middle East. The energy minister noted that increased domestic refining capacity could also support neighboring countries by supplying surplus fuel.<\/p>\n<p>The Petrotel-Lukoil restart follows the continued operation of the Petromidia refinery, which is currently running at full capacity.<\/p>\n<p>irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n<p>(Photo source: Inquam Photos\/George Calin)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Romania is set to restart the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery within 45 days after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, energy minister Bogdan Ivan announced. The move is expected to boost domestic fuel production and reduce reliance on imports amid the Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz crisis. \u201cThis is extremely important news: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}