Rompetrol Rafinare, member of Rompetrol Group, will temporarily shut down oil refinery Petromidia during October 17-November 3 for maintenance works, the company said in a press release remitted to Bucharest Stock Exchange.

The maintenance works will be carried by Rominserv, the general contractor of the Group, at Rompetrol’s catalytic cracking unit and other machineries that can be performed only when off-line.

“In this period, Rompetrol Rafinare will ensure the supplies to clients from its own stocks”, reads the press release.

The company recorded a record amount of processed crude oil in 2008 – 4.2 million tons, from 3.7 million tons in 2007 and 1.15 million tons in 2000, before the acquisition of the refinery by Rompetrol group.

For 2010, the oil company expects an increase in crude processing capacity to 5 mln tons. The group’s sales increased from $312mln in 2000, to over $4.68 million in 2008.

The Rompetrol Group is preparing the launch of the initial public offering for Rompetrol Rafinare (ticker: RRC), where it holds 75.32% stake.

Earlier this week, minority shareholders of Rompetrol Rafinare whose formulated request for a shareholders meeting aimed at selecting new administrators was rejected by the board, have filed a legal action to authorize the GSM.

At the end of 2008, Rompetrol Rafinare slipped on the red. The losses amassed throughout the year increased from €94.3 mln in 2007 to a record €126.3 mln. Over the last few years, the company held by Kazakh-based state-owned KazMunaiGaz reported significant financial losses on dept repayment.