The response of the European refining sector to the Commission’s proposal to tax increased profits relative to the previous three years of 2022 is comprehensive, as well as national governments, the CEO of the European Association of Petroleum Industries (FuelsEurope) John Cooper and the CEO of ELPE Andreas Siamisii spoke yesterday in a statement on the sidelines of a special event to present the new HELLENiQ ENERGY corporate identity and logo. The FuelsEurope spokesman also expressed concern for companies in the sector about their stay in Europe if, he said, they find that every time they make a profit, someone will have to take it from them. He highlighted the industry’s opposition to the Commission’s proposal to compare taxable income in 2022 with the previous three years, when the pandemic pushed profitability to particularly low levels, and suggested using a five-year basis for comparison.

The head of ELPE, Andreas Siamisii, described the measure as “a structure that has neither a moral nor a legal basis”, stressing that the industry will fight it across Europe. The two Greek refineries HELLENiQ ENERGY – after the approval of the new corporate identity yesterday by the extraordinary general meeting of ELPE – and Motor Oil have expressed their concerns to the Greek government in an attempt to convince the Greek government that any decisions should also be based on market logic, he said. It should be noted that Greece was one of the countries that supported the Commission’s proposal to tax a minimum of 33% of refinery profits.

John Cooper, CEO of the European Refinery Association, and Andreas Siamisiy, Managing Director of ELPE, expressed their disagreement.

Mr. Siamisiy shared the need to support society and consumers facing problems that, as he jokingly said, “are not because of oil.” “Part of the increased profits coming from Greece will also be passed on to us,” he said, citing, for example, an emergency tax on refineries could be introduced to cover the gas station oil subsidy announced by the prime minister. “However, you cannot, on the one hand, oblige me to maintain insurance reserves, and on the other hand, tax my temporary profit of 300 million euros, which is a registered accounting estimate,” he said. As for exports, he referred to the added value left in the country thanks to the billion-dollar investment of two oil refineries in foreign markets. The total tax for refineries with the addition of the national tax will be 55%, Mr. Siamisiy emphasized, and also expressed disagreement with the size of the emergency fee (90%) for energy companies. “No one asked us during the pandemic when oil prices crashed and we were posting losses if we had to repay our loans,” he stressed elsewhere, and also raised questions like “hotels also made a profit,” noting however that they did not propose to tax hotels.

Speaking of investments and the group’s transition to green transition and renewable energy, the head of ELPE announced two new agreements for renewable energy projects in overseas markets, which will be announced within the next two weeks.