In October, ORLEN Unipetrol held planned mock emergency drills at its refineries in Litvínov and Kralupy. The exercise in the Kralupy Refinery involved a simulation of a hydrogen sulphide leak and the formation of a toxic cloud that started expanding eastwards. The exercise in Central Bohemia included a fake leak of automotive petrol from a storage tank into a leakage sump. Both drills involved evacuations of persons at risk and short-term traffic restrictions outside the Litvínov site. In addition, ORLEN Unipetrol’s tactical emergency drills tested the Group’s emergency plan and incident handling capabilities of corporate firefighting units at both refineries.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the only oil processing company in the Czech Republic and a part of the state’s critical infrastructure. General and tactical emergency drills are regularly carried out at Litvínov and Kralupy refineries. “We conduct the emergency exercise each year even though the law sets out this obligation once in three years. Safety on the company premises is a top priority for us, of course. The exercise tested the emergency plan’s efficiency, the up-to-datedness of operating and safety documentation and the cooperation and coordination of all rescue units responding to an emergency,” said Maciej Romanów, a member of the ORLEN Unipetrol Board of Directors responsible for managing health protection and procedural safety, the environment, and investment projects.
“This year’s exercise at the Litvínov Refinery simulated a hydrogen sulphide leak and the formation of a toxic cloud that was to expand eastwards. The drill also involved rescuing an injured member of the operational staff moving near the reactor and hit by toxicity effects. This person was rescued based on the decision of the chief of the action,” specified Petr Králert, chief of the corporate firefighting unit in Litvínov. People were also evacuated from the affected production section, and only the needed employees responsible for operations remained on the site.
“In Kralupy, we simulated a leak of automotive petrol from a storage tank into a leakage sump. We also evacuated all people at risk of being affected by the emergency. The corporate firefighting unit of the Kralupy Refinery took part in the drill,” fire prevention specialist Milan Kaiser commented on the exercise. Both on-site emergency drills tested the effectiveness of the corporate emergency plan, the up-to-datedness of the operational and safety documentation, and the cooperation and coordination of all units addressing the emergency.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the critical players in the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes a network of ORLEN Benzina filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 427 filling stations, ORLEN Benzina is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Since its entry in 2019 to Slovakia, ORLEN Benzina has been one of the fastest-growing chains and currently has 24 stations in its network. ORLEN Unipetrol employs almost 5,000 people and is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe. The ORLEN Unipetrol is also active in corporate social responsibility. Therefore, it pays equal attention to initiatives that cultivate and support sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.