The EBRD is stepping up its support for energy efficiency in central and eastern Europe with a new long-term financing which will help the leading сentral European energy company MOL Group modernise its Slovakian member, Slovnaft Group.
MOL Group, a client of the Bank for nearly two decades, has taken considerable steps to maximise energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions across all of its operations.
A US$ 150 million, 8.5 year loan will support Slovnaft Group, a refining and petrochemical company, in financing a number of improvements in energy efficiency and environmental performance.
Slovnaft Group will use the proceeds of the loan to upgrade its strategically important equipment. It will install a new Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) petrochemical unit and upgrade the plant’s steam cracker. Both will be among the most carbon efficient facilities in the European Union. The new equipment will reduce CO2 emissions by about 80,000 tonnes annually – the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 16,000 passenger vehicles.
Riccardo Puliti, the EBRD’s Managing Director for Energy and Natural Resources, says: “In central Europe the EBRD is focusing on improving energy security and facilitating energy efficiency investments. This transaction is a further example of the excellent co-operation that has been built during the last 18 years between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and MOL Group.”
MOL Group is one of central Europe’s leading international oil and gas companies with operations in 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and CIS member countries. The Group also operates five refineries and two petrochemical units under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Croatia and Italy.
Since its establishment, the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) of the EBRD has invested a total of €8.8 billion in energy efficiency projects in 29 countries. The resulting annual savings of greenhouse gas emissions are close to 46 million tonnes of CO2.
