Largest Romanian oil & gas producer sees lower output

Romanian oil & gas group OMV Petrom’s hydrocarbon production dropped by 2.2% in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period of 2014, to some 174,000 boe per day. The decrease was due to the company’s workover at several important wells during this period. The Austrian group OMV, which holds OMV Petrom, also saw its production going down by 6.1% in the third quarter of the year. The sales volume dropped mainly due to the lower production in Romania and Norway, according to an OMV report. Decreased oil prices significantly burdened Austrian group’s results in the third quarter. OMV managed to recover some of the lost profits due to lower oil prices through oil price hedging, which brought it a cash inflow of about EUR 68 million in Q3. However, as the group reviewed downwards its short- and long-term oil price assumptions, it recorded net special charges of about EUR 1 billion, covering both assets under production and development, as well as exploration assets. These charges are also expected to impact OMV Petrom’s Q3 results, as the Romanian group stands for more than half of OMV’s upstream business. OMV has a 51% stake in OMV Petrom, whereas the Energy Ministry has a 20.6% share and the investment fund Fondul Proprietatea has an almost 19% stake. editor@romania-insider.com