The main shareholder of Grup Servicii Petroliere (Oil Services Group - GSP), the company whose oil rig came under Iranian fire on Tuesday, has deemed the incidents as piracy against Romanian property.
Gabriel Comanescu, 39, is a well-known figure in the domestic oil business, but has so far avoided direct contact with the media.
At the end of last year, Comanescu contracted a 125 million-euro credit from BCR, to buy six oil rigs, which previously belonged to Romania's biggest company, Petrom. This is one of the biggest loans ever granted by a single bank to an investor, which covered 85% of the acquisition, with the rest of the money coming from personal resources. The loan matures in seven years.
"BCR holds the mortgages of all six oil rigs," Comanescu told Ziarul Financiar. Comanescu is the general manager of Upetrom Group Management, which owns 90% in Grup Servicii Petroliere.
"Of the six oil rigs, only three are operating, but we are on schedule with the loan instalments. The three rigs secure enough cash for us to pay back the loan to BCR," Comanescu stated.
"One rig posts daily net income worth 50,000-60,000 dollars and, for instance, one of the oil rigs, which works for TPAO (i.e. Turkey's national oil company) has tripled daily earnings, up to 110,000 dollars.
Which means we have no problems paying back the loan," Comanescu states.
All six oil rigs are insured on the London Lloyd's market through insurance broker JLT Risk Solutions.
"We pay millions of dollars every year for insurance. The oil rigs are insured against all risks, from fire to terrorism. We cash any damages in case of accident, but, in the event of major accidents, such as an oil rig sinking, BCR cashes the damages," Comanescu added.
Although he expects to incur significant damages because of the conflict with the Iranians, the businessman would not name any figures.
Gabriel Comanescu says he still has not the learned the reasons behind the aggression, but stated that two weeks ago he had turned down a purchase offer from NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) for the two rigs (Orizont and Fortuna) operating in the Persian Gulf.
"There have been attempts to pressure us into selling the two oil rigs. We received an offer two weeks ago, but I turned it down. The oil rigs are not for sale and, even if we made such a decision, we would still need authorisation from BCR to sell," Comanescu said.
A new oil rig costs between 150 and 200 million euros, with demand for this kind of equipment having soared lately, whereas supply is still scarce.
Another reason behind the attack may be the court order issued by the Iranian authorities on August 16, preventing the relocation of the Orizont oil rig.
According to Comanescu, the judge that ruled in this case could not be contacted. Iranian authorities are expected to shed light on the reasons behind the attack on Saturday evening.
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