Petromidia refinery, owned by private oil group Rompetrol, will post sales worth 1.2 billion dollars this year, up 30% in dollars as compared to 2002, as the unit will reach the maximum production capacity this year.
"Petromidia has tripled production capacity since its takeover by Rompetrol at the end of 2000, when its output was 1.15 million tonnes of processed crude. This year, the refinery will practically reach its physical production limits, estimated at 3.8-4 millions tonnes of processed crude per year," said Eric Chis, vice-president of Rompetrol group, in charge with investments and development and former general manager of Petromidia until four months ago.
Private oil group Rompetrol is the second-largest player on the domestic market and is now expanding in the region.
In the past three years, the processing costs per tonne of crude at Petromidia dropped from 55 dollars in 2000 to 24.4 dollars in 2002, and are set to drop even further, to 19.9 dollars this year. Petromidia was voted "Refinery of the year 2003" by the World Refinery Association.
Petromidia has resorted to personnel cutbacks since privatisation until the end of 2000, from 3,575 employees to 1,400 at present, with more than 120 million dollars having been invested. The monthly average income of a Petromidia worker now amounts to 340 dollars, according to Rompetrol president and CEO, Dinu Patriciu. This was possible due to the unit's modernisation. "Petromidia is Romania's second-largest industrial platform, securing about 75-76% of the turnover posted by Rompetrol group. The refinery is the core of the system, as 60% of the sales are aimed at the domestic market and the rest of 40% are exported to Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey and east of the Mediterranean," Patriciu also said.
As for the upstream segment (oil and gas drilling and production), Rompetrol has just sold its participation in Ecuador's oil block 11, where production amounts to 1,000 barrels daily. Rompetrol sold its share to Chinese oil giant - China National Petroleum Corp., with annual revenues amounting to 41.5 billion dollars.
"I cannot disclose the price, for confidentiality reasons. This was a profitable deal for Rompetrol. We had paid eight million dollars for our share of that block," Dinu Patriciu told Ziarul Financiar.
Austrian group OMV, which owns 25.1% in Rompetrol, may also become the main shareholder in SNP (National Oil Company) Petrom, as it is one of the shortlisted bidders for the company's privatisation. When inquired about this possibility, Patriciu said "OMV holds a small stake in Rompetrol. And this is the way it will stay or it will not stay at all," the head of Rompetrol said.
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