Hellenic Petroleum

Infobox Company
company_name = Hellenic Petroleum
(ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΕΤΡΕΛΑΙΑ Α.Ε.)
company_
vector_
company_type = Public
genre =
foundation = 1958
founder =
location_city = Athens
location_country = Greece
location =
origins =
key_people = Chairman: Efthymios N. Christodoulou
CEO: Panos Cavoulacos
area_served = SE Europe
industry = Oil and Gasoline
products =
revenue = US$ 11.37 billion (2006)
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 5516 (2005)
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
owner =
company_slogan =
homepage = [http://www.hellenic-petroleum.gr/ www.hellenic-petroleum.gr]
dissolved =
footnotes =

Hellenic Petroleum S.A. is the largest oil refining company in Greece and with its roots dating to 1958 with the establishment of the first oil refinery in Greece (Aspropyrgos).

It adopted its current name in 1998, changing from the Public Petroleum Corporation S.A. (DEP), as the result of a corporate reorganization. It is a consortium of 9 subsidiaries and a number of additional companies of which it has varying degrees of management control.

Activities

Refineries and gas stations

Hellenic Petroleum operates three refineries in Greece, in Thessaloniki, Elefsina and Aspropyrgos, which account for 73% of the refining capacity of the country (the remaining 27% belongs to Motor Oil), and one in FYROM, the OKTA refinery, which is supplied by crude oil through pipelines from Thessaloiniki and covers approximately 85% of the country's needs. Crude oil for the refineries is supplied from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Russia. The company also operates over 1400 gas stations in Greece and about 300 gas stations in Albania, Georgia, and FYROM. It also has a network which sells LPG, jet fuel, naval fuels and lubricants.

Petrochemicals

Being the most important company that produces petrochemicals in Greece, Hellenic Petroleum has a very significant (over 50% in most cases) share of the market. Their basic products are plastics, PVC and polypropylene, aliphatic solvents and inorganic chemicals, such as chlorine and sodium hydroxide. The petrochemicals department is a part of the Thessaloniki refinery.

Electricity

Hellenic Petroleum operates a 390 MW natural gas power station in Thessaloniki. It opened in 2005 and it is operated through a subsidiary, T-Power. The fixed investment for this plant amounted to 250 million Euros.

Oil exploration

With law 2289/95, Hellenic Petroleum holds the exclusive rights for exploration and production of hydrocarbons in 62000 km² in Greece. The company is also active abroad, in cooperation with foreign companies, in Albania and Libya.

Other

Hellenic Petroleum subsidiaries include the engineering company Asprofos and the polypropylene film production company, DIAXON, whose factory is situated in the industrial area of Komotini. The company also controls a shipping company and has 35% shares in DEPA, the greek natural gas company, and VPI, which produces PET resin.

Ownership

The company is transitioning from a government-owned enterprise to a privately-held enterprise. 30.19% of its shares are available to the public through a float on the Athens Stock Exchange, with the Greek government retaining 35.49% and Paneuropean Oil and Industrial Holdings S.A. owning the remaining 34.32% of outstanding shares.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors is Efthymios N. Christodoulou, and the Chief Executive Officer of the company is Panos Cavoulacos, who also serves on the board of directors. The Latsis family has a controlling stake in Hellenic Petroleum and in 2007 increased its position.

ee also

* OKTA
* Aspropyrgos Refinery

External links

* [http://www.hellenic-petroleum.gr Hellenic Petroleum Web Site]
* [http://www.hellenic-petroleum.gr/Uploads/resource/CEO%20SPEACH%20AEGEAN_MARKETPLACE_EN.pdf Hellenic Petroleum: Story of Transformation and Growth]
* [http://www.hellenic-petroleum.gr/online/generic.aspx?nid=92&mid=51 Investments in Low-Sulphur fuel production in Thessaloniki]