1939 – Commencement of the construction of the STW chemical plant (Sudetenländische Treibstoffwerke AG, Oberleutensdorf) - 5.5.
1941 - 40% of construction and 50% assembly works completed; the first carbonization furnace put in operation.
1942 – Dispatched the train with petrol (15.12.).
1943 – First winter motor diesel produced; number of employees – 29,881.
1944 – Regular air raids of the production facilities by English and American Allies commenced on May 12th.
1945 – First Czechoslovak pure synthetic petrol produced (3. 6.).
1946 – Soviet Union waived all its financial claims and transferred the plant to Czechoslovakia.
1947 – First long-distance gas deliveries to the public gas network, including Prague (26. 10.); a campaign started against the plant, with the objective to close the plant down.
1948 –Compression material production facility put into operation (10.3.).
1949 – Establishment of a competition club at Na střelnici; company medical office opened in Litvínov – Osada; first deliveries of liquid oxygen to steel mills.
1951 – Phenol production increased.
1952 – Construction of a tram route to the plant commenced; collaboration with a chemical plant in Böhlen, Germany, commenced.
1953 – Assembly of first fly ash separators; number of employees – 7,644.
1954 – Economic management pursuant to the Soviet style introduced.
1955 – Regular ammonia production commenced.
1957 – Ammonia pipeline to the chemical plants in Lovosice put into operation.
1958 – Commencement of the construction of a new T700 heating plant.
1959 – Protection and occupational safety cabinet opened.
1960 – First crude oil brought via the Družba crude oil pipeline to Slovnaft.
1961 – Construction of the warehouses and workshops on the Northern Slope commenced.
1962 – First crude oil brought in tankers from Slovakia to Chemopetrol.
1963 - Operation of a new coaling bridge from the Herkules coal treatment plant to the T700 heating plant commenced.
1964 – Two new products introduced – synthetic alcohol and ethylbenzene.
1965 - Družba pipeline extension all the way to Chemopetrol.
1966 – Central canteen with a capacity of 4,000 meals opened at the company.
1967 – The company was producing already 75 chemical products.
1968 - Contract on collaboration in the process of improving the environment concluded with the Litvínov City authorities; number of employees – 12,000.
1969 – Oxo synthesis operation commenced – first such operation in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
1970 – Taking first carbonization furnaces out of operation.
1971 – Mazut, fission-based hydrogen production facility put in operation.
1972 – Coal chemical treatment terminated (11. 9.); construction of the Petrochemical facility commenced (I. II.); ammonia production facility put into operation.
1973 – Sulphur production facility put into operation.
1975 - 1976 – Polypropylene and polyethylene production facilities put into operation.
1976 - First polymeric catalyst for petrochemical processes produced.
1977 – Sixth cooling tower built.
1978 - Assembly of the pipeline bridge across the Most – Litvínov road completed; number of employees – 10,950.
1979 – Ethylene unit put into operation.
1981 - 1983 - Construction of the new Litvínov – NRL refinery completed
1988 - RMPPP (Raw Material Preparation for Petrochemical Production) put into operation.
1993 – Restructuring of the refinery and petrochemical industry as well as Chemopetrol commenced.
1994 – Divisional structure introduced (Petrochemistry, Agro, Phenols, Power Engineering, Water and Waste). Eight subsidiaries earmarked, particularly in the area of maintenance. Ingolstadt – Kralupy – Litvínov crude oil pipeline construction commenced. Reforming with continual catalyst regeneration put into operation; modernization of the T700 heating plant commenced.
1995 – Earmarking of the Refinery division and foundation of Česká Rafinérská, a. s. Ingolstadt – Kralupy – Litvínov crude oil pipeline put into operation.
1996 – Obtaining the ISO 9002 certification for Chezacarb, polyethylene and polypropylene. Opening of a new oxygen apparatus together with Air Products. Obtaining the Responsible Care certificate for responsible business practices in chemistry.
1997 - ISO 9002 certification for ethylbenzene, OXO and synthetic alcohol.
1998 – Merging of the Phenols and Agro divisions and thus starting the phasing-out process of the Phenols operation. Signing a license contract for the extension and modernization of the polyethylene unit with Univation and a contract for building a new polypropylene unit with Amoco. Signing a long-term, business contract with Air Product for hydrogen deliveries. Successfully defending the Responsible Care award until 2000.
1999 - Operation of a new SAP R/3 information system commenced; received the Safe Company award; defense of the quality certificates of the ISO 9000 standards; signing a contract for building a polyethylene unit with Linde; signing a contract for ethylene unit intensification with the Dutch company KTI.
2000 – Signing a contract for building a new polypropylene unit with Foster Wheeler. Air Products took charge of the economic management of technical gases on the Chemopetrol premises. The longest ethylene unit shutdown in the history took place (7.8. – 25.9.) and its capacity was increased. Chemopetrol became a member of the Krušnohoří Euro Region. Signing a loan contract for financing the construction of a polypropylene unit. Chemopetrol successfully defended the Responsible Care award for conducting business in the field of chemistry until 2002.
2001 – Chemopetrol invested the largest financial volume in the company history – 3.6 billion CZK. Chemopetrol industrial premises visited by the German Bundestag deputies G. Baumann and J. Schmidt. Foster Wheeler, the contractor for building the polypropylene production facility, accepted the construction site for petrochemical facilities and commenced construction works. Operation of the ASU II oxygen apparatus, built and operated by Air Products, commenced. First Benzina gas station with interior rest and refreshment facilities opened on Argentinská Street in Prague.
2002 – Kaučuk Kralupy is building a ethylbenzene production facility with an annual capacity of 300 thousand tons at Chemopetrol. Chemopetrol received the Safe Company certification. Chemopetrol, not affected by the floods, provided assistance to its sister and partnership companies – Kaučuk Kralupy, Spolana Neratovice, Lovochemie Lovosice and Spolchemie in Ústí nad Labem. New flue system of a better quality installed in the T200 heating plant. On December 12th, the Minister of Industry and Trade Jiří Rusnok visited Chemopetrol and ceremonially started the operation of the new polypropylene production facility. Unipetrol became the only shareholder of Benzina.
2003 – In February, a contract on accepting the polypropylene unit into permanent operation was signed. Chemopetrol introduced its products from the new polyethylene and polypropylene units and the e-commerce project on the international Plast Milano trade fair. Construction of a new line for naphthalene concentrate is ongoing at the petrochemical segment. Collective agreement for 2004 – 2006 was signed in December. Koramo and Paramo merged, with Paramo becoming the successor company.
2004 – On June 4th, a contract on the sale of the state majority share of the Unipetrol petrochemical group (63%) to PKN Orlen was signed between PKN ORLEN, the National Property Fund and the Czech Consolidation Agency. In May, the Agro plant produced its fifth million ton of ammonia. Chemopetrol received the prestigious Responsible Care award for conducting responsible business in the field of chemistry until 2008. In December, representative of Chemopetrol and of the Union signed a collective agreement for 2005.
2005 – The European Committee, in compliance with the European Union Directive on merges, approved the proposed takeover of Unipetrol by the Polish PKN Orlen. The privatization process of Unipetrol was completed and the company became an important part of the largest refinery and petrochemical group in Central Europe. Works on the construction of a new storage management facilities for the polypropylene production facility commenced. Chemopetrol received the Safe Company Certification for 2005 to 2008. Production of synthetic alcohol at the Agro plant in Chemopetrol was terminated. A new customer center put into operation within the frame of improving the quality of handling the tenants and users of the Chemopetrol industrial premises. In September, the first joint certification of the quality, safety and environment management systems was executed at Chemopetrol by auditor Lloyd´s Register Quality Assurance. A new ammonia reactor was put into operation at the end of the year.
2006 – Sale of a majority share of the subsidiary Spolana to the Polish Zaklady Azotowe ANWIL. In March, assembly of the new polypropylene warehouses was completed. Chemopetrol concluded a contract on the sale of a hundred-percent share of the subsidiary B.U.T. with TELLMER. Chemopetrol won the 2006 Company that Supports Health competition and was awarded Recognition of Level 1. In 2006, Unipetrol recorded revenues in the amount of 95 billion CZK and its net profit amounted to 1.6 billion CZK.
2007 – The Center of Shared Service (CSS) and the Sales Chain Optimization (SCO) section commenced their activities. In March, the ethylene unit produced its fifth million ton of propylene and tenth million ton of ethylene. In April, the company signed contracts with 13 partner cities, towns and communities and donated 1.2 million Czech crowns to them. In August, Chemopetrol, Unipetrol Rafinérie and Unipetrol RPA merged into a single company called UNIPETROL RPA, s.r.o. As a result of this fusion, CHEMOPETROL and UNIPETROL RAFINÉRIE ceased to exist without any liquidation, with the stipulation that all their assets, rights and obligations, including obligations arising from labor relation, were transferred to UNIPETROL RPA, as their successor company. In September, the Petrochemical and Agro plants merged into a new Plant of Chemical Productions and the name of HC CHEMOPETROL, a.s. was changed to HC Litvínov, a.s. Sale of the subsidiary Kaučuk to the Polish Firma Chemiczna Dwory. Commencement of the activities of the new subsidiary - Unipetrol Services. Change of the legal form of Unipetrol Doprava, Benzina and Petrotrans from joint stock companies to limited liability companies. Foundation of Butadien Kralupy, shareholders of which are Unipetrol (51 %) and Kaučuk (49 %). Merge of the subsidiaries Chemopetrol and Unipetrol Rafinérie with Unipetrol RPA. Unipetrol purchased shares that represent a 0.225% share of the basic capital of Česká Rafinérská from CONOCOPHILLIPS. Unipetrol obtained 14.51% of the shares of Paramo from the MEI Group companies. In 2007, Unipetrol recorded revenues in the amount of 89 billion CZK and its net profit amounted to 1,2 billion CZK, which put the group among the largest companies in the Czech Republic, as well as among the most important exporters.
2008 – Settlement of the sale of the shares of Agrobohemie and Synthesia based on contracts on the purchase of shares between Unipetrol and Deza. Unipetrol owned 50% of the shares of Agrobohemie and 38.79% of the shares of Synthesia. General Assembly of Unipetrol decided on the payment of dividends from the undistributed profit from previous years. The Unipetrol Group continued with restructuring of Unipetrol Trade. in 2008, Unipetrol France ceased to exist as a result of its fusion with Unipetrol Trade. In March 2008, shares of the trading company WALTER a.s. were sold. In March, the business name of CHEMICKÁ SERVISNÍ, a.s. was erased and CHEMOPETROL, a.s. registered instead. Extensive emergency exercises were conducted on the premises with the objective to verify effectiveness of the internal Company Emergency Plan in cooperation with UNIPETROL DOPRAVA, UNIPETROL SERVICES and the state administration authorities. In July, the production of a new product (C10-fraction) commenced on the ethylene unit. Technological modification that increases the capacity and efficiency of the processing of the hydrogen sulfide degases that are formed during the crude oil processing was implemented. The modification resulted in a significant reduction of the emissions of sulfur dioxide. The last stage of the Modernization and Reconstruction of the POX Production Facilities at the ARGO plant was completed. In October 2008, a successful recertification audit of the integrated management system was completed. The audit was conducted by Lloyďs Register Quality Assurance, a certification company, pursuant to the plan specified in advanced. The audit focused on the area of the quality management system, protection of the environment and safety. The determined situation was then compared with the requirements of standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Reconstruction of the BA-106 pyrolysis furnace in the area of the ethylene unit was completed. The impacts of the world financial and economic crisis forced UNIPETROL RPA to limit production on its production units. The ethylene, polyethylene and oxo alcohols production facilities were affected by these limitations the most. Construction of the new benzene extraction production facility within the petrochemical segment was completed. Another stage of the reconstruction of the biological wastewater treatment plant was completed.
2009 - The Unipetrol Group paid off its minority shareholders and obtained a 100% share of Paramo.
2010 - Unipetrol and Unipetrol RPA transferred their respective shares of CELIO to TICATANOR and B.E. Fin. The transfer of the shares was completed on April 14th, 2010.
2011 – In the beginning of the year, as a part of restructuring of the refinery segment, two new subsidiaries of Paramo were founded: Paramo Oil and Paramo Asfalt. As a part of the restructuring process of the Unipetrol Trade Group, the liquidation of Unipetrol Trade was completed as of September 27th, 2011. At the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th quarter, shutdowns of the refinery and petrochemical operations in Litvínov were conducted as planned within a four-year cycle. First, completely self-service gas station in the Czech Republic was opened under the name of Express 24, later changed to Benzina Express.
2012 – In January, Paramo Asfalt signed to five-year contracts for the delivery of asphalts, first one with Paramo, and second one with Unipetrol RPA. The transfer of the asphalt trading activities within the frame of the Unipetrol Group, formed a part of the strategy for restructuring refinery activities. In July, permanent termination of raw crude oil processing at the Pardubice Paramo refinery was announced. This decision was reached based on a complex analysis of the macroeconomic situation, including the low refinery margins when compared with the period that preceded the beginning of the financial and economic crisis in 2008, weak demand for diesel and a surplus of refinery capacities in Europe. Yet other key factors included a low conversion capacity (less than 1 million tons a year) and a low complexity of the Paramo refinery, which had a negative impact on the profitability of this asset of the group, with the stipulation that no fundamental improvement could have been expected from the medium-term perspective pursuant to various analyzed scenarios. In October, Paramo and Orlen Asfalt, from the mother PKN Orlen Group, concluded a purchase contract, based on which ORLEN Asfalt, as the purchaser, obtained from Paramo, as the seller, a 100% business share of Paramo Asfalt. The sale of Paramo Asfalt to Orlen Asfalt represented yet another step in the restructuring of Paramo and optimization of the of the refinery activities, a part of which was formed by the transfer of Paramo commercial activities in the area of asphalt products to Paramo Asfalt in January 2012.
2014 – In January, the transaction related to the purchase of the 16.335% share of Česká Rafinérská from Shell Overseas Investments was successful completed. As a result, the share of Unipetrol of the basic capital of Česká Rafinérská increased from 51.22% to 67.555%. Another important event was the fact that the company exercised its pre-purchase right to purchase the remaining 32.445% share of Česká Rafinérská from Eni International. The long-term strategy of cooperation with the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague (UCT Prague) was significantly strengthened. In November, a contract on the foundation of a new UCT Prague – Unipetrol University Center directly on the premises of the Záluží u Litvínova chemical plant was signed.
2015 – In April, the transaction related to the purchase of the 32.445% share of Česká Rafinérská from Eni International B.V. was successfully completed. Upon the completion of the transaction, the share of Unipetrol of the basic capital of Česká Rafinérská increased from 67.555% to 100%. Unipetrol thus became the only shareholder of Česká Rafinérská. In September, EPC contract (engineering, procurement, construction) was signed with Technip Italy for the construction of a new polyethylene unit (PE3) at the Litvínov plant. The production process and technology for the PE3 unit will be based on a license agreement concluded with INEOS in October 2013. An overall shutdown was executed at the Litvínov refinery. During the shutdown, various maintenance and investment projects were implemented. Benzina started selling medical supplies at its gas stations.
2016 – In January, Benzina and Polymer Institute Brno merged with Unipetrol RPA. These fusions form a part of a greater simplification process of the Unipetrol Group structure. The company acquired Spolana and commenced the construction of the new PE3 polyethylene unit. Benzina introduced a new gastronomic concept called Stop Café, with expanded relaxation zones and a wide range of healthy meals prepared on site.
2017 – The fusion between Česká Rafinérská and Unipetrol RPA. Benzina introduced new fuels with a cleaning effect on the market - EFECTA DIESEL and EFECTA 95. The Unipetrol Foundation commenced its activities with the objective to financially support students of natural and technical fields and schools and to popularize natural sciences among the wider public. Unipetrol Doprava signed a contract with Siemens for the purchase of three electric Vectron locomotives. A total of 40 high-volume silos for storing high-density polyethylene were installed on the logistics premises of the PE3 polyethylene unit. In November, a contract was concluded with the Austrian company Bertsch Energy GmbH & Co KG for the construction of a new boiler room for the production of high-pressure steam for the ethylene unit. The Spolana company in Neratovice terminated its amalgam electrolysis operation for the production of chlorine and sodium hydroxide. It means that the company production facilities completely stopped using mercury.
2018 – In October, the Orlen Group became a 100% owner of the Unipetrol Group. The renovated wastewater treatment plant was put into operation at the refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou, thus significantly reducing the volume of the discharged substances from the refinery. Planned maintenance of the refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou with a complete shutdown of its operation took place from the end of March until the beginning of May. Benzina celebrated a 60-year anniversary of its brand. It completed its acquisition of sixty OMV gas stations and began with the installation of first electric vehicle charging stations. Spolana celebrated 120 years since its foundation and it defended its worldwide Responsible Care environmental certification for the ninth time. It also commenced selling its product Spolsan G, granulated form of an agricultural fertilizer based on ammonium sulfate. Spolana was also awarded gold medal in the 2018 Czech Honey of the Year competition.
2019 - CZ LOKO delivered the remaining two out of the four ordered diesel Bizon locomotives to Unipetrol Doprava. Benzina introduced a new fuel quality control system at its gas stations and entered the Slovak market. It opened its first gas station in Slovakia in April. The first station is located in Malacky. By the end of the year, Benzina had a network of ten gas stations in Slovakia. In May, scientists from the Unipetrol Research and Educational Center introduced biofuel made of woodchips to the public. In the fall, a co-branding campaign that is supposed to increased awareness of the public about the affiliation of the Benzina brand to the Orlen Group was launched. Demanding modernization resulted in a vigorous reduction of the emissions from the main T700 heating plant at the Litvínov plant. Unipetrol expanded its support of peregrine falcons. A total of 25 offspring of this critically endangered bird of prey have hatched at the Unipetrol production premises since 2011.
2020 - This year was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the world. As part of the Czech Republic’s critical infrastructure, our Group adopted a unique set of sanitary and safety measures to ensure continuous production and availability of our products in the Czech market, and the safety of our employees, customers, and business partners. Many of these measures were also implemented at Benzina ORLEN service stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where the number of Benzina ORLEN outlets had grown to 20. Benzina ORLEN defended its victory in the Most Trustworthy Brand competition. The planned turnaround of the Litvínov production plant was successfully completed in the spring. This project involved a revision, maintenance, and modernisation of manufacturing technologies. Both production lines of the new polyethylene unit, PE3, were commissioned during the year. The PE3 is the largest investment in the history of the Czech chemical industry. Spolana Neratovice commissioned a modern gas-fired heating plant, thus significantly reducing emissions. Unipetrol joined the initiative to implement the zero-emissions strategy by 2050 announced by its parent company, ORLEN Group, in September 2020.