The government of Romania announced on December 10 that it had adopted measures "to rebalance the cooperation" with OMV Petrom for the next 15 years and a principled agreement between the two parties that "creates the premises for a balanced and predictable relationship, aimed at contributing to the consolidation of the country's energy independence for the near future." Romania signed the privatisation contract for Petrom with OMV nearly 20 years ago.

"All these interdependent elements will be materialised in the next two months in appropriate legal and contractual documents, at which time all details will be made public," the press release reads, implying the measures agreed still need legal codification.

The decision stipulates that the provisions aimed at "rebalancing" the cooperation remain classified.

The government extended by 15 years the exploitation licenses for the (offshore) perimeters taken over upon privatisation and by two years the exploration license for the offshore perimeter Neptun Deep, in exchange for the company accepting to pay 40% higher royalties on the onshore gas, covering the cost of closing down wells that are no longer in use (environmental cleansing) evaluated at some point in time at EUR 600 million and giving up all the litigations against Romania.

At the same time, OMV Petrom will recognise the provisions of the law regulating the exploitation of gas in the Black Sea (the Offshore Law) as this law currently stands, the government's press release reads. 

This provision may refer to the pre-emptive rights of the Romanian state on the offshore gas, but it is not explicitly said by the government – which prefers a more general formulation: "In all its activities, OMV Petrom will take into account the national interests of Romania and the interests of Romanian consumers, respecting the principles of competition within the framework of national and European Union legislation," the government's press release reads.

OMV Petrom, in its turn, issued a press release announcing it had "entered the next chapter of Romania's energy security." 

OMV Petrom said that the company and the Romanian state "have agreed on a set of legal and contractual objectives, including the resolution of key outstanding issues, important for future exploration and production investments in Romania." The company outlined the main provisions announced by the government.

The net impact of these agreed objectives will be communicated when they are finalised, both from legislative and contractual perspectives, expected in Q1 2026. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Omvpetrom.com)