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"Steaua Romana" refinery, one of oldest in country, enters bankruptcy
The "Steaua Romana" Refinery, from southern Campina municipality, one of the oldest in the country, founded 126 years ago, enters bankruptcy at almost 8 years since filing for insolvency, the Court's decision not being definitive yet.
According to the Court portal, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled on February 8, the bankruptcy and dissolution of the debtor company SC Rafinaria Steaua Romana SA, a decision that may be appealed in 7 days since the communication.
According to the data from the website http://www.steauaromana.ro/, the Campina refinery was, in the last century, a representative venue of the city, and while it was in use it was considered the most modern and the biggest refinery in Europe.
"In the year 1897, after the refinery fully acquired the oil area from around the city of Campina, it becomes a modern, 13.2 hectares refinery. When put into use, it was considered the most modern and largest refinery in Europe. (...) The construction of the refinery, as well as the results received in only a few years triggered a real industrial and social revolution for the city of Campina and its surroundings. Within a few years, there were new streets built, paved, tap water was introduced as well as electric lighting," the quoted source shows.
During the First World War, the Campina refinery suffered major damage, but after the war it was refurbished, the inter-war period being considered the glory period of "Steaua Romana", when the installations were upgraded, new equipment was purchased, reaching to process record quantities of 1.4 million tons of crude oil / year.
After being nationalized, the refinery went under the command of the "Petrolifere Muntenia" Society, and then to "Sovrom-Trustul Prelucrare", according to the volume of "1895-1995 Campina Steaua Romana. The history of a centennial refinery". According to the quoted source, the refinery had a setback during the period until the Revolution of 1989, and after the Revolution it began traversing the transition period from the centralized economy to the market economy.
"After the period of uncertainty passed, it moved to reorganizing the structure within the enterprise. (...) The year 1992 was the moment of enforcing this ambitious plan, focused on three directions: superior capitalization of the ton of crude oil, the energy consumption and processing expenses cut, the environmental impact diminishing. (...) In 1994 began the society's privatization process (...), the finalization of which being in the first semester of the year 1995," according to the volume.
The privatization was, for the refinery's employees, a breath of fresh air, as they hoped that the new shareholders will make the necessary investments.
Slowly, but surely, the refinery, the only one in Romania which produced paraffin, entered the recession, the first major blockage being registered in 2003 and the second one in 2008.
In 2013, the society entered insolvency, and later its assets were put up for sale.