Rompetrol Invests 7 Mln USD in Polymer-Based Road Bitumen Production

The Vega Refinery in Ploiesti, a member of Rompetrol Group, has commenced production of Eurobitum, a form of polymer-based road bitumen, following an investment of over 7 million USD. The installation can produce 60,000 tons per year and was built by Rominserv, the general contractor of Rompetrol Group. The company has also filed for a patent.

"The development strategy of the Vega Refinery aims at focusing on niches, including solvents, environmentally-friendly heating fuel, bitumen, as well as insulators for buried pipes. Though our competitors have a strong position on the road bitumen market, the inauguration of the polymer-based bitumen installation makes Vega an exclusive producer of special bitumen. The production capacity will enable us to cover over 50% of the current national demand for this type of bitumen, which was entirely imported until now," said Cosmin Cocean, Vice President of the Refining and Petrochemistry Unit of Rompetrol Group.

"The polymer-based bitumen is very flexible and much more enduring to temperature variations. The asphalt made with this kind of bitumen lasts 50% more than regular asphalt, while maintenance costs are halved. Moreover, this kind of bitumen can help reduce traffic noise by up to 20%," said Dumitru Manoiu, Vice President for Research and Development, Rompetrol Group.

The company announced intent to donate the bitumen necessary for five kilometers of highway in order to help customers experience the benefits of the new product. In addition to the technical benefits, the bitumen produced by Vega is cheaper than imported bitumen: 500 USD/ton compared to 620 USD/ton, according to Vega General Manager Marcel Pavel. He added that Vega would invest another 3 million USD in expanding the range of polymer-based bitumen.