Romania's OMV Petrom rejects energy market manipulation allegations

Romanian oil & gas producer OMV Petrom has rejected allegations about its involvement in the local energy market manipulation launched by Social Democrat MP Iulian iancu, the head of the Committee for Industry in the Chamber of Deputies. “Such allegations are likely to impact the company’s reputation and therefore its commercial activities,” according to press release OMV Petrom issued yesterday. Iulian Iancu, the president of the industry committee within the Chamber of Deputies, said earlier this week thata special committee of the Romanian Parliament will call the representatives of OMV Petrom to hearings about an alleged energy market manipulation and artificial price increase. Iancu accused OMV Petrom of deliberately reducing the capacity of its Brazi power plant last winter to manipulate the energy market and to force the price increase for its benefit. The company replied that the Brazi plant was operating at half of its capacity due to an accident. This was not in its benefit, quite the opposite. The company says it registered loses because it bought energy at high prices in order to honor its contracts. “A deliberate interruption of energy production and trading is contrary to the business rationale of any energy company,” according to OMV Petrom representatives. A draft law that aims to change the local energy and gas law is currently under debate in the Chamber of Deputies. The draft bill, which Iancu initiated, may force local gas producers sell over 70% of their production on the local gas market operated by state-owned OPCOM. editor@romania-insider.com