May 20, 2024 [SeeNews]- China Energy International Group is expected to build a 2.4 billion euro ($2.6 billion) oil and oil derivatives refinery in Serbia’s northern city of Smederevo about four years from the day it obtains the first building permit, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic told Serbian media.

The Serbian government signed the 2.4 billion euro framework agreement with China Energy International Group for the construction of the Smederevo refinery as a greenfield investment earlier this month.

The framework agreement was signed with a validity period of two years, Djedovic Handanovic told daily Politika in an interview on Friday.

The new facility will have a processing capacity of up to 100,000 barrels a day and will produce oil derivatives in accordance with the highest technological, ecological and product quality standards of the European Union, she said.

The facility will have 700 permanent workers and will employ further 2,400 workers indirectly.

Serbia currently has one oil refinery, operated by Serbian oil and gas group NIS, controlled by Russia’s Gazprom. The existing refinery is located in Pancevo, some 20 km north-east of Belgrade.

According to the plan, Serbia will build an oil pipeline from Pancevo to the location of the planned Chinese refinery in Smederevo, some 45 km to the southeast, in order to supply the future facility with crude oil, Djedovic Handanovic noted.

Free Trial: Access 13,300 Tank Terminal and Production Facilities

13,300 tank storage and production facilities as per the date of this article. Click on the button and register to get instant access to actionable tank storage industry data