The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic performed a planned military exercise at the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s site in Kralupy nad Vltavou. It aimed to verify the readiness of territorial forces and strengthen collaboration with the Integrated Rescue System when protecting facilities belonging to the state’s critical infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Prague Regional Military Command for the Central Bohemia Region, the drill focused on improving the skills of soldiers from the infantry company of the Active Reserves of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. Various types of military and non-military security incidents were rehearsed during the drill.
“Keeping our production plant secure is a priority for us. Therefore, we will offer our premises to the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic for this military exercise through which practical readiness for emergencies can be effectively verified. We are convinced that this collaboration strengthens the security of the region and the entire country,” says Maciej Romanów, a member of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s board of directors.
“Forty members of the Czech armed forces participated in the drill at the Kralupy Refinery. The exercise was named Safeguard Prague I 2023. It was carried out by the infantry company of the Active Reserves of the Central Bohemia Region. The drill took place within the premises and the immediate vicinity of a warehouse storing liquefied gases belonging to ORLEN Unipetrol. Blank ammunition was used during the exercise,” says Chief of General Staff, Colonel Ing. Roman Tkačík.
The military training at the Kralupy Refinery was not the first non-company emergency drill on the Group’s premises. In the past, the Spolana Neratovice production plant also regularly allowed non-company emergency drills to take place there in which the Police of the Czech Republic organised hundreds of police officers, regional riot police units and the Equestrian Service department.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group, which operates two refineries in our country, is, as the country’s sole processor of crude oil, part of the state’s critical infrastructure. In addition to extraordinary exercises, the ORLEN Unipetrol Group organises regular tactical emergency drills at its production sites. They primarily verify the efficiency of the company’s emergency plan, whether the operational and safety documentation is up to date, and the collaboration of all units when dealing with emergencies.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the key players on the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN Benzina network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic and the ORLEN network in Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs almost 6,000 people. ORLEN Unipetrol is also a socially responsible company, particularly in the areas of supporting sustainable development, education, local communities and the environment. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the ORLEN Group, the largest oil refiner in Central Europe.