Oil Refineries Ltd Appoints Mr. Pinhas Buchris as CEO

HAIFA, Israel, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE: ORL.TA) (hereinafter "the Company," "ORL"), Israel's largest integrated refining and petrochemical group, announced the appointment of Mr. Pinhas Buchris as Chief Executive Officer of ORL, effective May 1, 2011.

In his previous role, Mr. Buchris served as General Manager of the Israel Ministry of Defense from 2007-2010. Before that he was a Managing partner in Apax Fund, a private equity investment group.

Mr. Buchris completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, a BSc in Computer Sciences at the Technion University and an MBA at Derby University's Israel branch.

Mr. Yossi Rosen, Chairman of the Board of Oil Refineries: "The Company and Board of Directors are happy to welcome Mr. Buchris as CEO of ORL. We are confident in Mr. Buchris' abilities to continue leading ORL and implementing its strategic plan, so that it can stay on track with its goal of becoming the strongest and most competitive refining and petrochemical company in the Mediterranean Basin."

Mr. Rosen thanked outgoing CEO, Mr. Yashar Ben Mordechai for his eleven years of service as CEO of ORL and wished him luck on his future role as Senior Advisor for Projects and Business Development.

Additional announcements

(1) A convenience translation of a full report outlining the details of the new CEO's remunerations terms, will be available on ORL's investors relations website (http://www.orl.co.il, under "investors relations"), by the week of April 11, 2011.

(2) Mr.Hanan Klachouk, the General Manager of ORL's Industrial Sector, notified the Company about his resigning, effective from of June 30, 2011.

About Oil Refineries Ltd.

Oil Refineries Ltd. (ORL), located in the bay area of the city of Haifa, operates Israel's largest integrated refining and petrochemical group. It is one of the leading refineries in the Eastern Mediterranean area and integrates, on-site, petrochemical businesses. ORL runs sophisticated and state-of-the-art industrial facilities with a refining capacity of 9.8 million tons of crude oil per year and a Nelson Complexity Index of 7.4, providing a variety of quality products used in industrial operation, transportation, private consumption, agriculture and infrastructure. The Company's petrochemical sector produces Polymers (through its ownership of Carmel Olefins Ltd), Aromatics (through its ownership of Gadiv Petrochemical Industries Ltd), and Lube-Oils (through its ownership of Haifa Basic Oils Ltd). The Company's shares are listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the ticker ORL. For additional information please visit http://www.orl.co.il.

ORL is controlled by the Israel Corporation Ltd. and Israel Petrochemical Enterprises Ltd., both public companies whose shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

    
    Company Contact:
    Rony Solonicof
    Chief Economist and Head of Investor Relations
    Tel. +972-4-878-8152
    Contact IREn@orl.co.il

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Ehud Helft / Porat Saar
    CCG Israel
    Tel. (US) +1-646-233-2161 / (Int.) +972-52-776-3687
    info@ccgisrael.com