Petrom partners PetroSantander for production activities in Arad

Oil and gas company Petrom has signed with Canadian company PetroSantander, which will undertake investments and perform services on behalf of Petrom in nine fields in the Arad area. This is the second such contract signed by Petrom, after recently partnering HuntOil in drilling in Eastern Romania. The partnership with PetroSantander will increase production by 50 percent in the fields in the next five years. A joint committee formed of Petrom and PetroSantander representatives will supervise the operations and Petrom will remunerate PetroSantander for delivered production, depending on the production level. This contract covers nine mature fields situated in the West of Romania, close to Arad, fields that have been exploited for the last 40 years and which provide together approximately 1 percent of Petrom’s domestic production. Production operations and related services, as well as the employees involved in these activities will be transferred to PetroSantander for the duration of the contract. Petrom will remain the title holder of the concessions contracts, the hydrocarbon production, the existing assets as well as of the rights and obligations as defined by the Petroleum Law. Petrom exploits proved oil and gas reserves in Romania and Kazakhstan. On the distribution market of oil products, Petrom Group is present through a network of approximately 800 filling stations, operated under two brands, Petrom and OMV. In Romania, OMV Petrom Marketing operates 546 filling stations, out of which 389 are Petrom and 157 OMV. The group also owns an international network of approximately 250 filling stations, located in Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria and Serbia. In 2009 the group’s turnover was EUR 3,795 million, its profit before taxes stood at EUR 969 million. OMV holds a 51.01 percent share in Petrom. editor@romania-insider.com