On 27 May 2009, UNIPETROL, a.s. announced that it would irregularly shut down its ethylene unit in Litvinov for approximately 16 days at the beginning of June 2009 (see Reg. Announc. No. 15/2009). The reason for the shutdown was repair of propylene refrigerant system.

At the same time, we took advantage of this shut down for fixing other problems, e.g. control system problems.

The shut down took place from 1 June to 14 June 2009 (i.e. 14 days), and all the repairs were completed successfully. The total impact of the shut down on the 2nd quarter 2009 operating result (EBIT) of UNIPETROL, a.s. has been assessed in the amount of approx. CZK ‑55m. The total impact is lower than the shut down plan, and includes both lost margin and maintenance costs.

Moreover, the Kralupy refinery had been undergoing a periodic turnaround from 15 April 2009. In course of FCC complex maintenance, the necessity to perform a significantly more amply than anticipated scope of maintenance jobs emerged, if and when the FCC complex - and hence that of the entire refinery - was to be ensured for the forthcoming 4‑5-year production cycle.

Successful completion of FCC complex maintenance led to 25-day prolongation of shut down. The impact of prolonged maintenance on top of the periodic maintenance in terms of lost margin on the 2nd quarter 2009 operating result (EBIT) of UNIPETROL, a.s. has been assessed in the amount of CZK -77m.

In Prague, 13 July 2009
UNIPETROL, a.s.
Reg. Announ. No. 22/2009