A waste-oil recycling project to be implemented in Romani

The Romaian company Green Oil and Lubes SRL is to receive a loan for the development, construction and operation of a recycling plant for waste lubricant oils in the Balkan country, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on its website. The project is granted a club loan amounting to 38,7 million US dollars, provided by the EBRD and Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR).

The current financing is a part of a bigger investment program by the company, which aims to receive a total of 57 million US dollars funding for the full implementation of the project. The goal of Green Oil and Lubes is to construct a 73 000-metric-tonne recycling plant in the southern Romanian city of Oltenita. The facility is planned to recycle waste lubricant oils and transform them into base oils for sale and reuse in the automotive sector and the industry.

Green Oil and Lubes SRL is part of a group of companies established by the Indian engineer and businessman Mazarali Kamumiya Saiyed, EBRD explains.

The group is going to contribute to the investment program with 26 million US dollars from its own capital. The rest of the funding will be ensured equally by the EBRD and BCR. The parties signed an agreement for the building of the facility, which also guarantees the BCR will grant the Romanian company another 8,7 million euro for working-capital needs and other expenses related to the implementation of the project.

"By supporting a new recycling facility, the investment addresses a core issue in Romania’s transition to a sustainable and green economy. Resource efficiency and recycling remain areas where there is significant room for improvement. On average every liter of lubricant oil generates 0,5 liters of waste lubricant oil. In Romania, only around 50 per cent of this waste is collected, and it is mainly used as fuel for producing heat, generating significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions"", EBRD further informs.

The new company is determined to collect the majority of recyclable waste oil in Romania and to develop an attractive and affordable product for local clients. The construction of the recycling facility will also open about 60 new jobs.

"We are pleased and honored to partner with a strong and dynamic company such as Green Oil and Lubes in this exciting venture. It is a highly innovative greenfield investment in Romania and one that focuses on the circular economy and the environment. The success of this project will demonstrate how business considerations and green concerns are more and more intertwined in a modern economy"", Matteo Patrone, EBRD Regional Director for Romania and Bulgaria, said.

"Co-financing environmental projects is one of the strategic directions of BCR and we are glad that we can contribute to an investment that addresses one of Romania’s critical issues, namely, domestic and industrial recycling facilities. We are constantly preoccupied with the sustainable and efficient targeting of financial resources towards technology, infrastructure, education, environmental protection and, implicitly, quality of life"", Sergiu Manea, CEO of BCR, added.

"We are honored to partner with two major international banks in developing a unique project in Romania, in a strategic location, on the banks of the Danube river, which connects eastern and central Europe, allowing us to fully recycle waste oil that is collected in the region"", Mazarali Kamumiya Saiyed, majority shareholder in Green Oil and Lubes, noted.

The EBRD has a long-standing commitment to supporting green energy projects in the region. Under its Green Economy Transition approach the Bank is planning to increase its investment in the field to more than 40 per cent of annual business investment by 2020, it disclosed in a press information piece.

The Bank is also the leading investor in Romania. It has invested a total of over 7,5 billion euro in about 400 different business projects in the country. Only last year EBRD has financed over 20 projects worth more than 400 million euro.

Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) is a member of Erste Group and today is the most important financial group in Romania. Its operations include universal banking (retail, corporate and investment banking, treasury and capital markets). It also has specialized companies on the leasing market, private pensions, housing banks and banking services.