The territory of present-day

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

started producing oil in 1857; oil facilities became an important strategic military target in 1916 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

was the largest producer of oil in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(with the exception of USSR whose primary oil source was in Azerbaijan), and the oil extracted from Romania was essential for Axis military operations. Allied bombers attacked the Romanian

petrochemical industry The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector. Compan ...

near

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...

heavily (see

Operation Tidal Wave Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...

) before the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

occupied the oilfields in August 1944. After the war, significant reconstruction and expansion took place under the communist regime. Since 1989, most of the industry has been privatized. Possessing substantial oil-refining capacities, present-day Romania has a particular interest in the Central Asia-Europe pipelines and seeks to strengthen its relations with some

Arab States of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

. With 10 refineries and an overall refining-capacity of approximately , Romania has the largest refining industry in the eastern European region. Romania's refining-capacity output far exceeds domestic demand for refined petroleum products, allowing the country to export a wide range of oil products and petrochemicals — such as lubricants, bitumen, and fertilizers — throughout the eastern European region. http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/nte30277.htm Romania has the largest power sector in south-eastern Europe.

Refineries

This is an incomplete list of oil refineries in

: *

Arpechim Refinery 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. It was closed in 2011. The refinery has two processing modu ...

, ( Petrom/

OMV OMV (formerly abbreviation for Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung Aktiengesellschaft ('' en, Austrian Mineral Oil Administration Stock Company'')) is an Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company which is headquart ...

), * Astra Refinery, ( Interagro), * Petrobrazi Refinery, ( Petrom/

), * Petromidia Constanţa Refinery, (

Rompetrol Rompetrol is a crude oil development, producer, and refiner based in Romania. It also markets and distributes refined petroleum products through its chain of gasoline and diesel fuel stations. Established as a state-owned company in 1974, it ...

), * Petrotel Lukoil Refinery, (

LUKOIL The PJSC Lukoil Oil Company ( stylized as LUKOIL or ЛУКОЙЛ in Cyrillic script) is a Russian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Moscow, specializing in the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of petrol ...

), * Petrolsub Suplacu de Barcău Refinery, ( Petrom/

), * RAFO Oneşti Refinery, (

Calder A Calder is a Scottish name and may refer to: People * Calder (surname) *Calder baronets, two baronetcies created for people with the surname Calder *Alexander Calder (1898-1976), the American sculptor known for his mobiles, son of Alexander Stirli ...

), * Steaua Romană Câmpina Refinery, ( Omnimpex Chemicals), * Vega Ploieşti Refinery, (

References

External links

Romanian Petroleum History
* www.geohelp.net/world.html * Mirbabayev Miryusif. ''Brief history of the first oil drilling wells in Baku region'' - "Noema" (Romania), 2018, v.XVII, p.175-185 * Vassiliou Marius. Historical dictionary of petroleum industry; 2nd edition - 2018, Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield-Scarecrow Press. p. 593 * Marius Vassiliou, Miryusif Mirbabayev. US and Azerbaijani oil in the Nineteenth Century: Two Titans. - USA, Lexington Books Publisher, 2022. - 259 p. {{Romania topics Economy of Romania

Energy in Romania Petrochemical industry Petroleum in Romania

Refineries

See also

References

External links