The ORLEN Unipetrol refining and petrochemical group has successfully completed the planned shutdown of its refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou and brought it back into operation. During the shutdown, which lasted more than a month, the Kralupy production site underwent comprehensive maintenance and modernisation. ORLEN Unipetrol carries out shutdowns, or general maintenance breaks, at its refineries approximately every four years. The previous shutdown at the refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou took place in the spring of 2022.
“I am pleased that, despite the significant scope of the planned maintenance and investment works, we managed to complete the shutdown of the Kralupy refinery a few days ahead of the original schedule, given the current situation. All key production units are now back in operation and the refinery is once again producing all three main products: petrol, diesel and jet fuel. “I would like to thank all employees, suppliers and business partners for their excellent cooperation,” said Milan Brejchal, a member of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group responsible for production.
A shutdown is a planned halt to production, the primary reason for which is the regular maintenance of all equipment in accordance with legislative and technical-technological requirements. It is also an opportunity to carry out investment projects and technological changes that cannot normally be performed whilst the plant is in operation. “We carry out these shutdowns at roughly four-year intervals at both our refineries. Current investment in the maintenance and modernisation of the Kralupy refinery has exceeded two billion crowns,” concluded Milan Brejchal.
Key projects in the revitalisation of the Kralupy refinery included the refurbishment of the gas oil hydrogenation process equipment, the modernisation of reactors in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, and the modernisation of fractionation columns in various production units of the refinery. The maintenance work also included an inspection of the safety flare, which is used for the controlled combustion of excess production when necessary.
The ORLEN Unipetrol refining and petrochemical group is the sole crude oil processor in the Czech Republic, a major producer of fuels, plastics and fertilisers, and the operator of the ORLEN network of service stations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. With 446 stations, it is the largest network of service stations in the Czech Republic. The Kralupy nad Vltavou refinery processes mainly crude oil from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Arab and African countries, North America and the North Sea. This crude oil is transported via the IKL pipeline (Ingolstadt – Kralupy nad Vltavou – Litvínov), which connects to the TAL pipeline from the Italian port of Trieste. The total volume of crude oil supplies to the Czech Republic amounts to approximately eight million tonnes per year, of which roughly one-third is processed at the refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on oil processing and the production, distribution, and sale of fuels and petrochemical products, particularly plastics and fertilizers. It is a major player in all these areas on the Czech and Central European markets. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group includes refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, research center in Brno and the engineering design company ORLEN Projekt. ORLEN Unipetrol also owns the ORLEN network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs over 3,300 people. ORLEN Unipetrol is also a socially responsible company, particularly in the areas of sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment. A testament to the high quality of employee care is the prestigious international Top Employer certification, which the Group received in 2023, 2024 and 2025, along with several national awards. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the ORLEN Group, the largest energy company in Central Europe.
Contact: Pavel Kaidl,
spokesperson, telephone: +420 736 502 520, e-mail: pavel.kaidl@orlenunipetrol.cz