Rompetrol to clarify state debt issues today; media says company got top local lawyers on its side

Oil and gas company Rompetrol will organize a press conference today (Wednesday, August 25) to clarify issues related to the company's debt to the state, as well as to the finalization of the public takeover offer for Rompetrol Rafinare. The main shareholder of Rompetrol Rafinare is currently negotiating with the state on the EUR 571 million debt stemming from the Petromidia refinery. The deadline for paying the debt is September 30 this year. Romanian Government officials have recently said the state will use all the legal ways to recover the debt from Rompetrol. Local media says Rompetrol already prepares to go to court with the state on account of this debt. According to Ziarul Financiar, the Finance Ministry will go to court if KazmunaiGaz, the majority shareholder in Rompetrol, will not pay off its debt. The Rompetrol group has already hired four large law firms locally to defend them in this case, which could be the biggest trial in the Romanian corporate history, according to Ziarul Financiar.