For the first time, the profit registered by Petrom’s owner, the Austrian OMV oil group, is below that of the Romanian company, considering that OMV posted a profit of a mere €40 mln, 11 times less than the €446 mln posted in Q1 2008.
In terms of sales, the effect of the crisis was sharper in Petrom’s case, where the drop in revenues was 32.6 percent, to RON 3.46 billion (€813 mln), while OMV registered a 28 percent decline. The plunge in the price of oil on international markets in 2008 cut the results of oil companies, with major enterprises, such as Shell, British Petroleum, Total, and Chevron registering drops of up to 50-60 percent on main indicators.
Petrom signed Friday loan agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a total amount of €400 mln, The funds will help the oil company to support its investments in the Brazi-located 860 MW energy plant, worth some €500 mln, which is to become operational at mid-2011.
