The company, controlled by businessman Dinu Patriciu, currently ranks 25th among top European oil companies, so it needs to climb 15 places and surpass giants such as MOL and OMV.
Patriciu recently told Business Standard he plans to list the company on the London Stock Exhange in two years, when Rompetrol is set to reach net sales worth $12-15 billion (€8.7-10.8).
Rompetrol Vice President, Eric Kisch, said the top 10 target can be achieved by purchasing a refinery and increasing the number of distribution points five-fold.
He added the ideal refinery should be located in the Mediterranean region.
"It should have a refining capacity of some four million tons, similar to Petromidia," [the company's current refinery], he said. Although they consider Rompetrol's goal an ambitious one, oil market analysts have told Business Standard that Rompetrol stands a chance of joining the European top 10, and that steps taken by the company so far are proof for its will and capacity to expand regionally.
The company plans to allocate some $2 billion (€1.45 billion) for expansion and hopes to obtain funds by selling up to 25 percent of the company by the end of the year, and attracting financing.
"Rompetrol's regional expansion is to be very aggressive in the next two years. We aim to become the tenth largest company in Europe in the next three to five years," Kisch told Business Standard.
"In three years, we should have 10,000 employees, and 2,500 gas stations, up from the current 550," he added.
Kisch said that Rompetrol is currently operating in Romania, France, Spain, Georgia, Bulgaria and Albania, and plans to expand from Georgia throughout the Mediterranean region. He added Rompetrol plans to take over Serbian oil company NIS, which is suitable in terms of development plans.
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