As the end of Q1 approaches, a new milestone has been targeted by the INA Group in the Republic of Croatia. Europe overall has seen the calls to expand downstream output becoming as loud as a whispering lion in the wild. Croatia is not a nation known for its energy industry, but that certainly does not exclude the nation from developing new refineries or upgrading existing ones to meet the output standards of the international energy market.
A nearly billion-dollar investment in downstream operations?
For the INA Group, the long-awaited commissioning of the overhauled Rijeka refinery is so close they can almost taste it. The Republic of Croatia has been working diligently to facilitate an increase in energy production to not be left behind by the international increase in demand for energy resources that has encompassed the world.
As several European energy ventures target a 2026 completion date, the overhauled Rijeka refinery has benefited from a $822 million investment by INA. The project has become a top priority for the government and has the backing of the nation’s energy sector experts.
On your marks, get set, and almost go….
The process of upgrading or overhauling a massive national refinery often requires profoundly pragmatic thinking. The INA Group has stated that the initial commissioning phase of the Rijenka Refinery has begun, and that the group is targeting a full-scale commissioning by the end of Q1 2026.
As with the majority of refinery upgrades, the project has taken the best of the best from the INA Group’s wide and far-reaching expertise to develop the refinery upgrades. Modernization is not a guarantee of a successful refinery, but it certainly does alleviate concerns of demand outpacing supply in a tiny European nation that mostly relies on imports of essential energy resources to meet demand.
INA has fostered a record throughput achievement at the refinery last year
Over the past year or so, the construction of the upgraded components at the refinery was carried out without interrupting existing refinery operations at the Rijeka Refinery. This marks the project as a truly unique energy development across the international energy industry, where regular upgrades at refineries can often take years to complete, most times while exceeding the allocated budget.
During that uninterrupted operational period, the refinery achieved the longest continuous operating period over the past 15 years, an extreme rarity in the modern-day energy industry.
The upgraded refinery now features the latest, state-of-the-art components, which, alongside the planned new port and storage silos, will reshape the Croatian energy sector over the coming years.
Integrating advanced technologies for energy resource production has become a necessity to modernize refineries around the world, and the INA Group has announced that the first commissioning phase of the upgraded Rijeka Refinery is now underway, with the company anticipating a full-scale commissioning of the entire complex by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
“Following the exceptional engagement of our teams and partners during the construction, we are entering the testing phase, followed by trial operation. By modernising the Rijeka refining complex, INA is gaining one of the most technologically advanced facilities in the region, delivering higher efficiency, improved profitability, greater energy independence and enhanced security of supply.” – Goran Pleše, Operating Director of Refining and Marketing at INA
Expanding downstream output capacity is a global ambition
While the Republic of Croatia has proven that refinery upgrades need not influence existing refinery operations, the global need to increase and enhance downstream operations has become as clear as day. Several energy-rich nations have come together to launch expansion works at refineries across the world, exemplifying the need to increase downstream output capacity to meet the anticipated increases in demand for energy.
