By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 26 -- Austria's OMV AG, Central Europe's leading oil and gas company, submitted a binding offer for 51% of the state-owned Romanian oil company, Petrom SA.
However, all parties agreed to retain confidentiality on that pending deal. Any updates of the privatization process will be provided by the Romanian government, said company officials.
Petrom is the largest oil company in Romania, with production of 5.8 million tones of crude and 6.1 billion cu m of gas in 2002. It also has two refineries with a combined annual capacity of 8 million tonnes and a network of 690 retail stations across the country.
It would be a good fit for OMV, said OMV officials. OMV has been active in Romania for 5 years through its subsidiary SC OMV Romania Mineraloel SRL and has a 25.1% stake in the Rompetrol Group NV, the biggest private oil company in Romania.
