The European Investment Bank will provide a total of EUR 400 million to Hellenic Petroleum SA in order to increase the production of cleaner fuels via the upgrading of the Elefsina refinery.

The loan agreement signing ceremony was held at a hotel in central Athens. The contracts were signed for the EIB by Mr Plutarchos Sakellaris, Vice-President, and for Hellenic Petroleum by Messrs John Costopoulos, CEO, and Andreas Shiamishis, CFO, in the presence of Mr Tassos Giannitsis, Chairman.

At the signing ceremony, EIB Vice-President Mr Plutarchos Sakellaris stated: "We are providing this finance to benefit both development and the environment in Greece, in our capacity as the European Union's bank. In order to counteract the impact of the financial crisis on the Greek and European economies, we are substantially increasing our lending. Loans for cleaner energy form an integral and important part of our extended offering. This underlines once again the key role that entrepreneurial activity plays in strengthening the structural competitiveness of the EU’s economy.

There is no doubt that such investment acts as a vital link in the innovation chain, creating employment and raising the level of job qualifications. This productive investment improves atmospheric conditions via state-of-the-art refining technology and by increasing cleaner fuel production. We are pleased to have Hellenic Petroleum, one of the most important players in South-East Europe, as a partner in this effort."

Mr Tassos Giannitsis, the Chairman of Hellenic Petroleum, commented: “We are delighted to be partners of the European Investment Bank in this upgrade of our Elefsina refinery – the cornerstone of our investment programme. This EUR 1.2 billion investment, the largest industrial investment ever in Greece, will improve competitiveness, create new jobs, produce better and environmentally friendlier products, reduce imports, increase exports and importantly enhance the environmental performance of the refinery by substantially reducing all emissions. Project implementation is on track with completion expected in the second half of next year. In very difficult times for our country, HELLENIC PETROLEUM is committed to implementing its strategy for growth and competitiveness, involving a major investment programme of over EUR 2 billion in 2009-11 focused on refining and marketing businesses and a major performance improvement initiative.”

In the energy sector in Greece, EIB ?nancing has been directed towards securing sustainable energy supplies, reducing the burden on the environment and promoting the development of new sustainable energy sources. Signi?cant projects in this sector include support for (i) Public Power Corporation’s network modernisation, involving several schemes to reinforce and extend electricity transmission and distribution networks throughout the country; (ii) the Greek Natural Gas company’s priority Trans-European Network schemes, notably investments in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Revithoussa, which increased capacity and enhanced overall security of supply; and (iii) the construction of the high pressure gas pipeline connecting Komotini with Alexandroupolis and the Turkish natural gas network at the Greek-Turkish border. In the private sector, the TERNA renewable energy project involves the construction of wind farms to generate renewable energy, thus furthering EU and national policy objectives on renewable energy and climate change.