Russia’s Gazprom Mulls Buying Romania’s Romgaz

Gazprom said in a statement that took place at the Romanian Ministry of Economy and Finance headquarters that the Russian company "intends to participate at the approaching privatization of Romgaz."

In June, Prime-Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said Romgaz and other companies in the energy sector still in state hands will expand their investments in countries in the region, in order to increase their value and selling price.

Romgaz is Romania’s main producer of natural gas and holds the biggest storage facilities in the country. The company extracts over six billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, which represents around half of the local output.

Romgaz reported an eight-month turnover of 2.05 billion lei (EUR1-RON3.4099), up 6.6% against the same period a year earlier, and a net profit of RON318 million, or 13% lower on the year.