Open to debate: should Romgaz buy OMV Petrom out of Neptun Deep?

Given the circumstances, namely the urgency of having the natural gas extracted from the Black Sea and OMV Petrom constantly threatening ‘not to take the investment decision’ unless the Offshore Law is amended, Romgaz - potentially in partnership with other state-owned companies such as Hidroelectrica - may consider buying the other 50% stake in Neptun Deep from OMV Petrom and go ahead with the project, according to an opinion launched for debates by Ziarul Financiar daily.

“So did the Dutch in the North Sea, as well as the British off the coast of Great Britain or Statoil in Norway,” the daily argues.

This would also settle the cumbersome issue of finding a fair arrangement for sharing the profits generated by the perimeter.

Romgaz, which is ready to pay ExxonMobil USD 1 bln for 50% in the project, has never objected to the Offshore Law as it is now, the daily argues.

OMV Petrom has no superior know-how when it comes to offshore operations, the daily also argues admitting that ExxonMobil was in another position in this regard.

The only possible argument against such an idea is that ‘the state is the worst manager.’ But the Romanian taxpayers still trust it with around one-third of the country’s GDP (the outcome of their work) when it comes to the general government budget. It trusts it with managing the public health care system, the pension system and the education system - with a much greater impact on the country than the several billion euros Neptun Deep would need.

The situation has changed significantly in terms of the rule of law and the management of public companies.

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