Romania’s competitive landscape

Domestic government

The Romanian government has announced plans to increase the royalty taxes for mineral resources such as oil and gas by the end of this year, according to BMI. These royalties will increase as the exiting levels are inadequate, yet, the extent of this rise is not 100% clear as of yet. At the moment Romania collects mineral royalties worth approximately US$ 425.5 million /y and a reported 80 – 82% come from oil and gas firms.

Domestic interest

Petrom is the largest crude producer in Romania. 51% of the company is owned by OMV. The company runs a network of approximately 177 service stations on top of its oil production operations. There are also two refineries owned by the company including the Arpechim and Petrobrazi plants. Major upgrade work has been announced for the Petrobrazi refinery which will see investments of approximately US$ 806 billion. OMV Petrom is also the major natural gas exporter in Romania as well as the Black Sea region.

Romgaz is the leading gas production and storage company in Romania. Its production hub is in the Transylvania region and is mainly reliant on very mature natural gas assets. The Romanian government has already sold a 15% stake in the company, and BMI has reported that further sales are expected in an effort to form joint ventures to explore for new gas resources.

Foreign interest

Romania is home to several foreign downstream operators including Lukoil, MOL and OMV. Shell was involved in the downstream sector but divested itself of its assets. The company sold its 59 service stations to MOL of Hungary. ExxonMobil is now involved in deepwater Black Sea exploration in the country.

Rompetrol is owned by KazMunaiGaz, the Kazakh national oil company. The company has two refining facilities in its possession, along with 740 fuel retail sites and the rights to develop nine oilfields. Investments in the company are, according to BMI, set to increase this year with money being ploughed into additional retail sites and cogeneration facilities at the company’s two refineries.

Looking more closely at Lukoil, the company has as 51% share in the Petrotel refinery and owns over 300 service stations across Romania. The company is looking to dominate approximately 18% of the country’s fuel market share, according to BMI. Lukoil has also recently announced interest in to offshore exploration blocks.

Adapted from a report by Claira Lloyd.

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