“The year 2009 is a difficult year, a year of crisis for the whole world. The years 2010 and 2011 will come with many challenges. We must have money for our investment programs. It is difficult for us to increase revenues, because we are facing a drop on the market. We are carrying out cost control, are relying on our own cash-flow, but are also negotiating loans with EIB [European Investment Bank] and EBRD [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development],” according to Mariana Gheorghe, General Manager of Romania’s largest company, Petrom, who was describing the local oil market leader’s anti-crisis strategy yesterday. Her statement was made a short time after Petrom signed for a €300 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Gheorghe added that the government’s decision to obtain a financial package from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and other international financial institutions is a good one, saying that this loan “offers assurance in a difficult year, and in the coming years, that financing is accessible whenever needed, that a strategy can be made, and that one can develop.”
“The contribution of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is €150 million of the total loan, with the rest of the loan to be provided to the institution by a group of commercial banks, which could include a parallel loan from Banca de Comert si Dezvoltare a Marii Negre,” added the Petrom official.
“Petrom’s 2009 budget was revised based on the current situation and volatility this year, as well as perspectives for the coming years,” said Mariana Gheorghe. Gheorghe refused to comment on a possible salary hike, which would have to be included in the budget proposal published by the company in connection with the General Shareholder’s Meeting on 28 April, saying that negotiations with unions on this subject had not yet been concluded.
In the past four years, Petrom invested over €4 billion, and is presently negotiating a loan with EBRD and EIB for loans worth some €450 million to finance 90 percent of an 860 MW power station at Petrobrazi.
