The bankruptcy of the RAFO company was pronounced by the Bacau Tribunal

The bankruptcy of RAFO arises as a natural consequence of the fact that the investors' intentions did not materialize in a transaction, corroborated with the expiration, on August 22, a.c., of the company's reorganization plan, of 18 months. It is worth noting that RAFO does not operate for a long time, its production activity being stopped in 2008, long before it went into insolvency.

„RAFO Onești has a symbolic value for the local and regional oil and petrochemical processing market. For Romanians, it is a company with emotional value, which we all remember with nostalgia. Beyond that, we must be realistic and notice that RAFO is a complex, niche project, with long-term Return on Investment and multi-branch implications. The acquisition of RAFO would have meant only a first step on a road with potential, the company also requiring sustained investments both in the modernization of the refinery infrastructure, the development of the team of specialists, as well as in ensuring a quality raw material. All these criteria indicate that we need an investor of force and caliber, agile in an uncertain market, a player most likely at international level. ”- said Vasile Godîncă-Herlea, CITR CEO

CITR Bucharest branch SPRL was appointed the liquidator of the RAFO company at the same meeting on September 19, 2019, to be confirmed at the first general meeting of creditors. The first step in the procedure will be to resume the process of inventory and evaluation of the refinery, followed by the elaboration of a new strategy of recovery, meant to cover the recovery of the receivables and the expenses of conservation. The syndic judge will set a deadline by which all the creditors who have registered debts after the opening of the insolvency procedure will register applications for registration at the credit bureau.

“And in this phase, our intention will be to use the refinery as a functional whole. We are also concerned about the preservation of the asset, keeping it in proper condition. If there will be no investors interested for the whole group, we will consider the segmented sale, by technological processes. ”- added Vasile Pop, Country Sales Manager of CITR

Rafo S.A. was established in 1991 as a trading company. Composed of two refineries, from that period it worked only through Refinery 2, following the restructuring of the production flow. The oil was purchased mainly from imports, Rafo operating mainly with Iranian oil. The company was forced to stop production in 2008 due to the fact that it was no longer possible to renew the operating license, as well as on compliance with the provisions of environmental legislation. Between 2004-2010, RAFO went through a period of insolvency, implementing the reorganization plan approved at that time. Although RAFO S.A. conducted a wide range of studies on various development options, between 2015-2016, the company failed to continue the modernization program started in 2008, efforts focusing more on the conservation of equipment and machinery. The assets of the company are in good physical condition, in a context in which it has not worked since 2008, and the maintenance and conservation works were minimal and aimed at avoiding accelerated damage.