Kazakh group still interested in buying Romania’s stake in local refinery

KMG International, a group of companies owned by Kazakhstan’s state oil company KazMunayGas, is still interested in buying a 26.7% stake in local company Rompetrol Rafinare from the Romanian state, local Agerpres reported. KMG International currently owns 54.63% of Rompetrol Rafinare, which operates the biggest oil refinery in Romania – Petromidia. The Romanian state holds 44.68% of the company’s shares. In 2013, the Kazakh group and the Romanian Government agreed that KMG International would buy another 26.7% of Rompetrol Rafinare’s shares for USD 200 million and that it will launch an investment fund with USD 1 billion in assets that would invest in energy projects in Romania. According to KMG representatives, the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 with the Romanian Government is still in place and the group plans to finalize these objectives in 2018-2019. KMG recently announced that the planned takeover of a 51% stake in the group by CEFC China Energy Company failed. editor@romania-insider.com