The year 2022 was a milestone for the Motor Oil refinery group and its top executive, Vardis Vardinogiannis, who at the time took the opportunity to send his special message on the occasion of the influential Group’s 50th anniversary.
Within the pages of a special commemorative album, Vardis Vardinogiannis took stock of the last half century of Motor Oil’s operation while reminiscing and charting the Group’s course for the next 50 years.
The proud Cretan and Hellenic Navy officer (1955-1967), who passed away on Tuesday, November 12, took the helm of Motor Oil in 1973 when the visionary force behind the construction of the Corinth-area refinery, his older brother Nikos Vardinogiannis, suddenly passed away.
Vardis Vardinogiannis: Motor Oil continues its journey, stronger, like a new ship
Motor Oil’s corporate and industrial journey over the past half century has also been inextricably linked with the course of the Greek economy.
Vardis Vardinogiannis was confident of the group’s future and its impact on the country’s growth, writing characteristically in the commemorative album that it will “continue stronger, like a new ship.”
“Drawing on the principles of the Hellenic Navy, which are deeply entrenched in me since I served there as an officer, I know that on the ship’s bridge you always look forward. As far as your eye can see, perhaps even further, drawing on knowledge, experience, insight, and with faith in and commitment to the goal,” Vardinogiannis wrote in the penultimate paragraph of his message in the album commemorating Motor Oil’s half century of operation, issued in 2022.
“Today, I am proud to see Motor Oil continuing the journey it started 50 years ago; bigger, more modern and stronger, like a brand-new ship, which knows how to evolve and respond to the challenges and demands of the times – and always with one eye on the future while preserving the precious heritage and legacy of the past, sailing ‘full speed ahead’ towards tomorrow,” Vardinogiannis concluded.
’50 years that determined my life…’
Vardis Vardinogiannis, who served as the president of Motor Oil for 51 years (1973 – 2024), detailed the course of Group and his own personal, and stellar, business career.
Among other things, he stressed that 2022 “was a very significant milestone in the Group’s historic course.”
He described the Group’s half century as “50 years of struggles and stress, hard work and tackling adversity – achievements, difficulties, and successes. Fifty years of growth and development, but always with faith in the goals set and achieved; goals which have grown ever loftier down the decades.”
Devotion towards set goals
In his message on the Group’s 50-year anniversary, Vardis Vardinogiannis set out one and only goal for the Group, which was built by his family:
“The previous milestones in our history immediately come to mind. I look back at every step, from the very start to the present day, every critical milestone we have passed over the course of this long and creative journey. For we have encountered every type of challenge along the way, which we have met with faith and dedication to the goal, which is to create, to strive, to move forward for the company, for ourselves, for our families, for our country.” Vardis Vardinogiannis also conveyed a message of his own: that all Greeks must contribute to the country’s progress.
A philosophy of life and the values of entrepreneurship
In a brief account of Motor Oil’s 50 years of operation, Vardis Vardinogiannis never forgets where he started from, the difficult years he experienced. Yet, above all, he shines a light on his philosophy that has guided his life and the principles that defined his path; principles which he passed on to the Group and which are now indivisibly fused with his business activity.
“Naturally, nothing was taken for granted, nothing was given away, and nothing was easily won. What we earned, we earned with vision, hard work, team effort and sacrifices alone,” he points out, before continuing:
“We, the people of Motor Oil, have always perceived success through the values for which the Group stands for and the spirit that permeates the Group; with a philosophy of life that is inextricably intertwined with a philosophy of business. And above all, with a non-negotiable ethic, because since its creation Motor Oil has followed and served two fundamental principles: The first defines that the company is, and operates as, one big family, bound by deeply human ties of loyalty, solidarity and cooperation. The second principle is that every Motor Oil success supports and strengthens the Greek economy and contributes to society and our nation.”
A sign put up in 1970 at the Aghii Theodori site, due west of the Athens-Piraeus conurbation in the Corinth prefecture, declares that the site is to host the future Motor Oil refinery.
Motor Oil begins its operations in 1972
Ten milestones stand out over the course of Motor Oil’s 52-year history. Several of these are also intimately linked with the course of the Greek economy.
The first milestone, of course, is the Corinth-area refinery beginning production.
Vardis Vardinogiannis remembered this first and most significant milestone, noting:
Vardis Vardinogiannis, third from the left, with his wife, Marianna, second from the left, poses with Hellenic Navy Vice-Admirals Theodoros Manolopoulos, third from the right, and Aristidis Giannopoulos, left, along with their wives, at the newly inaugurated Motor Oil refinery. Nov. 11, 1972.
“It is with emotion that I think back to November 1972, when Motor Oil began its operations, and to how a unit for producing lubricants and refining crude oil would become a state-of-the-art energy giant with a leading position in Greece and Europe.”
The inauguration ceremony for the new Motor Oil refinery at the Aghii Theodori site in the prefecture of Corinth took place on Nov. 11, 1972 amid an official but festive atmosphere and in the presence of over 2,000 guests.
VIP guests from around the world arrive in Athens aboard a specially chartered Olympic Airlines plane to attend the inauguration of the Motor Oil refinery on Nov. 11, 1972.The refinery’s extravagant inauguration is attended by state officials, foreign ambassadors, bank presidents, domestic business leaders, as well as 150 representatives or so of multinationals and global oil giants. Many of the latter were flown in from New York and London to Athens by aircraft chartered by Motor Oil specifically for the occasion.
Nikos Vardinogiannis, left, greets his younger brother, Vardis Vardinogiannis, at the Grande Bretagne Hotel in central Athens on the evening of Nov. 11, 1972, the day the Motor Oil refinery was inaugurated.
“It’s a pioneering industrial facility, which in many ways belongs to the future,” is the description written in Motor Oil’s commemorative album, followed by a reverent reference to the Group’s founder:
“After all, the future was what Nikos I. Vardinogiannis, the founder of Motor Oil, was attempting to conquer. If behind every success story there is always a bold visionary, Nikos Vardinogiannis would provide the ideal model.”
A smoke stack at the refinery under construction at the Aghii Theodori site, 1971.
The choice for the refinery’s location was anything but random. The specific area, covering a total area of 200 hectares at the Aghii Theodori site, has a number of advantages, such as its proximity to Athens, the ability of vessels with a large draught to dock in the waters off the facility, and its overall geographical location, which gave it the strategic option to selecting various types of crude oil suppliers from different countries of origin.
The refinery has an annual capacity of two million tons, and has facilities comprised of two many complexes:
– The crude oil refining complex for the production of LPG, naphtha, diesel and fuel oil.
– The mineral oil complex for the production of naphtha, bitumen and paraffin.
Motor Oil president and CEO Vardis Vardinogiannis, center, among top executives and ex-Hellenic Navy officers who were recently forced to retire and hired by the company. Giorgos Vardinogiannis, his younger brother, is on the far left, while another younger brother, Thodoros, is on the far right.Vardis Vardinogiannis assumes the helm of Motor Oil in 1973
As the Group’s 50-year commemorative album explains: “The summer of 1973 was a dark page in the company’s history, as an unimaginably tragic and completely unexpected event affected the Motor Oil family.” .
“On July 2, 1973, quite suddenly, the company’s founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nikos I. Vardinogiannis, passed away. He was only 42 years old.”
Vardis Vardinogiannis, who had been in the family business from the start and without interruption, assumes the helm of Motor Oil. It is Vardis Vardinogiannis who is called upon to steer the company into a “safe haven”, protecting it from the effects of the global oil crisis, which erupts in October 1973.
Motor Oil President and CEO Vardis Vardinogiannis gives a guided tour of the refinery’s facilities to then industry minister Konstantinos Konofagos in 1975.1973-1974: The oil crisis and the decoupling of the drachma from the US dollar
In 1973, Vardis Vardinogiannis is appointed chairman of Motor Oil. That same year witnesses intense turbulence in the global oil market.
In tandem with sharp fluctuations in the world’s exchange rates, the rapid expansion of demand on the one hand, and the limited supply of crude oil on the other, cause the price of crude oil to soar.
The situation is further aggravated by the start of yet another round of hostilities between several Arab countries and Israel. The fourth Arab-Israeli war, or the War of Yom Kippur, renders the prospect of a crude oil embargo against certain Western states inevitable. The price of crude oil has increased fivefold by 1974.
It is at this point that Vardis Vardinogiannis and the management of Motor Oil manage to limit the Group’s losses, thanks to a timely and correct assessment of the international situation.
Appropriate steps taken under Vardinogiannis’ leadership, plus a strategy centered on the purchase of crude oil through existing agreements and on the free market, guarantee an uninterrupted supply of crude for the refinery, despite the caps imposed by the oil-producing states.
In 1974, Motor Oil is faced with a negative business environment, both domestically and internationally.
It is at this point that the drachma is decoupled from the US dollar. Combined with soaring crude oil prices, this development creates recessionary conditions and inflationary pressure.
At the same time, the crisis in the shipping sector is exerting its own negative influence on the general business climate.
Nevertheless, Vardis Vardinogiannis and the Motor Oil management press on with the Group’s growth and development plan.
In 1975, the construction of a new crude oil complex is completed. Motor Oil’s refining capacity has risen to 7 million tons and the new complex now produces naphtha, aviation fuel, kerosene, diesel and fuel oil, LPG and elemental sulphur as a by-product.
An aerial view of the Aghii Theodorii refinery in 1975.
Gasoline production begins in 1976
In his message in the commemorative album, Vardis Vardinogiannis describes the beginning of gasoline production at the refinery as another milestone for the Group.
“This half century of Motor Oil history is a collection of pivotal moments. For the oldest among us, when we look at the old photos we travel back in time and relive the scene, as if we were back once more amidst the thrill and excitement of the early days in November 1972. Then, the excitement of the transition from lubricants to fuels, watching the first liter of gasoline ever produced by the refinery,” Vardinogiannis recounts in his 2022 anniversary message.
In 1976, Vardis Vardinogiannis, now chairman and CEO of Motor Oil, steers the Group towards a realignment in its investment strategy.
This was deemed necessary in view of the imminent change in the oil policy of the Greek state with regard to the supply of petroleum products to the domestic market and the upcoming removal of restrictions, which prevented Motor Oil from supplying the state and other oil companies in Greece.
As a result, a new expansion of facilities is decided upon, with the construction of a heavy naphtha catalytic unit for the production of 400,000 metric tons of gasoline annually set in motion. This plant would be completed two years later and commissioned in 1978.
A Motor Oil print advertisement from 1985.
Greece joins the EEC in 1981
After a long period of pre-accession negotiations, Greece became a full and equal member of the EEC on Jan. 1, 1981.
Vardis Vardinogiannis has already prepared Motor Oil for the new era dawning for the Greek economy.
Greece’s accession to the EEC is a historic milestone for the country, and had a serious impact on its economic and investment activity.
With Vardis Vardinogiannis at the helm, the Group succeeds in coping with the adverse conditions on the international market without unnecessary losses.
Motor Oil has the necessary prospects and potential to proceed unhindered with its investment planning and to significantly expand its penetration into the Greek and international oil and lubricants market.
The first production of unleaded gasoline in 1982
A year later, Vardis Vardinogiannis helps align Motor Oil’s strategy with European and international trends by interpreting developments over the long term. The same year, in 1982, a new sulphur recovery and separation unit is installed in the catalytic cracking complex; the unit is necessary for the production of high-octane gasoline.
This large-scale investment by Motor Oil marks a dynamic innovation, as only one such plant existed in Europe at the time.
With this initiative, Vardinogiannis and Motor Oil succeed in ensuring that the group can supply the Greek market with high-specification unleaded gasoline in line with international standards. This superior quality gasoline (petrol) is produced at the refinery and is destined for European and international markets.
Members of the company’s new board of directors after signing an agreement with Saudi Aramco on March 15, 1996.
1996 and an agreement with Saudi Aramco
1996 and the Saudi Aramco agreement
Motor Oil continues to grow rapidly, and in 1996 Vardis Vardinogiannis enters into a landmark business agreement that will establish the Greece-based Group internationally.
On March 14, 1996, an agreement is signed in London for a joint venture between the Vardinogiannis Group and the Saudi Aramco Group, the largest oil-producing conglomerate in the world.
The significance of the agreement is marked by the presence of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum, Ali Al Naimi, at the high-profile signing ceremony.
Under the agreement, Motor Oil Holdings SA (controlled by the Vardinogiannis family) and Aramco Overseas Company B.V. (a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco) are now established as shareholders of Motor Oil, with a 50-percent stake each.
Aramco’s participation in Motor Oil’s share capital is one of the largest foreign investments ever made in Greece.
The two groups agree that Motor Oil’s organic growth is a key priority, while the Greek company is guaranteed a timely and uninterrupted supply of crude oil.
Motor Oil president and CEO Vardis Vardinogiannis, right, with then deputy CEO Petros Tzannetakis, in 2001.
Listing on the Athens Stock Exchange in 2001
Another milestone for Motor Oil is its listing on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Vardis Vardinogiannis manages and approves this investment decision, and the public listing takes place on July 10-13, 2001.
The management of the Athens Stock Exchange decides to list 105,507,600 existing shares on the big board, plus 5,275,380 new shares from a share capital increase.
On Aug. 6, 2001, trading in the shares begins and Motor Oil’s cash reserves are boosted by 50 million euros.
A year later, in 2002, Motor Oil acquires 100 percent of the shares of Avin Oil for 37.5 million euros.
In 2005, Vardis Vardinogiannis and the Motor Oil Group agree to acquire the 50-percent stake held by Saudi Aramco, giving the Vardinogiannis Group control of 67.4 percent of Motor Oil on Nov. 22, 2005.
In 2006, disposing of 5.9 percent of the shares through a private placement increases the free float to 38.5 percent.
The Motor Oil facilities today.
The economic crisis in Greece
2002-2011 is a time of particular importance for the Motor Oil Group.
During this decade, Vardis Vardinogiannis and the Group’s management proceed with extensive infrastructural investments, as well as entering into a strategic partnership with Shell.
However, the second half of this period witnesses the beginning of a punishing economic crisis in Greece, which has serious repercussion for Greek society.
Remaining committed to the Group’s principles and devoted to setting and meeting goals, Vardis Vardinogiannis and Motor Oil take on an unofficial role as a corporate model for dealing with the now generalized domestic crisis.
Despite the readjustments to its plans necessitated by the crisis, Motor Oil still manages to fend off negative effects in the overall market environment and make significant strides in both technological and business terms.
A ‘green strategy’ in 2012-2022
In the 21st century, Vardis Vardinogiannis continues to inspire with his leadership in Motor Oil Group’s fifth decade.
Foresight and prudence are the primary characteristics of the management now exercised by his son, Ioannis V. Vardinogiannis, who holds the positions of Vice Chairman of the Board and has been serving as CEO of the company since January 2021.
Motor Oil’s fifth decade in operation has been marked by Greece’s exit from the economic crisis and the company inaugurating its “green strategy”.
The Group continues to regularly break production and sales records. In 2019, sales reached 15.5 million tons, when in 2019 they reached 9.4 million tons.
Motor Oil’s management has also announced a four-billion-euro investment plan aimed at the Group’s “green” and “digital transition”.
Major milestones in Motor Oil’s history were also posted in 2021 and 2022.
The company MORE Energy has been founded with a focus on renewable energy sources and “clean energy”. Then, in 2022, in a one-billion-euro deal, Motor Oil acquires almost 30 percent of Ellaktor along with 75 percent of the construction group’s renewable energy sources.
In 2022, Motor Oil celebrates its 50th anniversary and unveils its plan for four billion euros in investments by 2030 as part of its “green transition”.
MORE Energy is the main vehicle for this new challenge, while Motor Oil’s plans include its digital transformation, entering the electrification sector with 1,000 charging points by the end of 2023 and 2,000 such points in five years.
In June 2024, Motor Oil, with Vardis Vardinogiannis as the Group chairman, acquires Helector S.A. from Ellaktor Group, marking its entry into the waste management sector.
A wind farm operated by More Energy.
