Names of Romano-Americana Oil Refinery during the time :
- Rafinăria Româno Americană 1904-1948
- Rafinăria 11 Iunie 1948
- Petrolifera Muntenia 1948 - 1950
- Sovrompetrol Rafinăria Teleajen 1950-1956
- Rafinăria 3 Teleajen 1956-1961
- Rafinăria Teleajen 1961-1974
- Combinatul Petrochimic Teleajen 1974-1990
- SC Petrotel SA 1990 - 1998
- SC Petrotel Lukoil SA Ploieşti 1998- today
In 1904, the Romanian-American Society was established, based in Bucharest, with a capital of 2 500 000 lei. It was exploited by the American consortium based in New Jersey, its shares initially circulating only in America. The company deals with the industrialization, trade and export of Romanian oil.
Refinery in its early years.
Among the shareholders were G. Negroponte and
D. Hernea, large landowners who also owned land in Bacău County. In 1905, the
Romanian-American company bought 12 600 ha of land at a distance of 6 km from
the city of Ploieşti, in Teleajen and Ploieştori, acquiring oil lands both in
Prahova County and in Bacău County. The lands were leased directly from the
owners or from different purchasers, the owners receiving royalties. Only two
years after its establishment, when some of the constructions and installations
were finished, the oil processing started. In the first years, about 64 000
tons of oil were refined annually. The products obtained were: aviation
gasoline, oil, diesel, oils, fuel oil. 
Aerial views from 1929
In 1933, the Teleajen Refinery had an
invested capital of 785 888 000 lei, owned a power plant and employed 405
workers. In 1941, a gasoline factory in Moreni and two petrol stations also
operated within the Romanian American Society: one in Moreni and another in
Boldeşti. The activity of the refinery was always expanding through the
acquisition of new land and through the irrational exploitation of the
deposits. The main purpose of this company was to acquire land recognized as
oil, to develop and exploit it. By the nationalization law of June 11, 1948,
the company is nationalized and transferred to state ownership. In the period
1952-1958, the Oil Block-complex of installations for the manufacture of
superior oils was built, which includes installations for atmospheric and
vacuum distillation, electric desalination of crude oil, de-asphalting with
propane, oil deparaffining.
AGERPRESS photo from 1956.
he engine was built in 1972, operating with a
capacity of 170,000 tons of oil per year. Oils, pharmaceutical Vaseline,
paraffin, diesel, fuel oil, gasoline were exported to China, Japan, Russia,
Cuba, Spain, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malta, Jordan, Germany, Germany, France,
Brazil, Lebanon, Colombia. The increase in production capacity also led to an
increase in the number of employees, reaching 4000 in 1973. After the revolution
of December 1989, which led to many changes in economic, social, cultural and
political terms, the company was taken over by a Soviet concern. privatization,
operating under the name of Petrotel Lukoil.