Stiri	Stiri afaceri	Stiri companii	Evenimente de afaceri

OMV: Petrom privatization is in line with European legislation

Petrom privatization was carried out under the European Union (EU) and of other international institutions supervision, precisely respecting all the rules in the field, representatives of OMV press office, the majority shareholder of the company, told ROMPRES.

They were requested if OMV would agree with the European Executive launching an investigation on an eventual state aid to Petrom Co., through the small royalties the Romanian state perceives and which, according to the Romanian Minister of Economy and Finance Varujan Vosganian, represent half the level in the other European countries. 'Petrom privatization was finalized under EU supervision and of some other international bodies. The contract is valid and all the relevant regulations were strictly observed', answered the OMV representatives. According to them, the Austrian company brings a substantial contribution to Romania's secure oil supply. 'OMV invests 1.6 billion euros annually in Petrom's modernization, meaning a substantial investment in securing Romania's supply', stressed the Austrian company's representatives. As well, they said that Petrom is the largest contributor to the Romanian state's budget and, moreover, the Romanian state is a constructive OMV partner within Petrom Co. 'Over 2005-2007, Petrom implemented investments of some 2.2 billion euros in the company's upgrading and development. Recently, in the context of the big oil prices, Petrom revised its strategic objectives by 2010, boosting the investment budget to 1.5 billion euros annually, on the period 2008 through 2010', the quoted sources also said. On Thursday, June 19, Minister Varujan Vosganian stated that Petrom's privatization was a mistake, under conditions in which this company manages all oil resources in Romania. According to Vosganian's statement on a private TV channel, as a last resort, an analysis should be made to establish to what extent this contract observes the European legislation because the royalty paid by Petrom, below half of what is paid in the rest of Europe, could be considered by the EC as state aid. Previously, on Thursday, in a seminar on foreign investments, Vosganian emphasized that the privatization contract concluded between the Romanian state and OMV looks pretty strange. 'In my opinion, when you launch a privatization process, you must think about the country's evolution. To give over the country's reserves to a single entrepreneur represents a less responsible move', explained the Minister. According to him, OMV has no intention to revise the contract. Lately, Vosganian brought severe criticism, in numerous instances, to the Petrom's price policy, labeled by him as a 'defiance', under conditions in which the oil extracted by this company from the Romanian soil is not influenced by the big international quotations. The Minister emphasized that the prices of fuel Petrom has set are higher than in the countries which do not have oil reserves. In their reply, Petrom representatives said that the company's price policy is similar to the one practiced in the European countries and reflects competition on the market and any administrative interference is an anti-competitive practice. They said that, irrespective if the shareholdership is private or public, the fuel prices would have been the same. The privatization contract of SNP Petrom, the largest oil company in Romania, was signed on July 23, 2004. The majority share package, respectively 51 percent, was taken over by Austrian OMV Group in a transaction 1.5 billion euros worth, aimed at direct share acquisition and capital increase. AVAS controls a package of 20.6 percent of the stock, Property Fund - 20.1 percent, EBRD - 2.026 percent, whereas other shareholders own 6.214 percent of Petrom stock. Sursa: http://www.rompress.ro

Tags: petrom contract percent romanian company privatization european state

Articole similare