Romanian Rompetrol To Lay Off 1,500 Employees Over Next 3 Yrs

"This was my decision. There is a business plan drafted upon Rompetrol acquisition, which is now enforced," Patriciu said at an oil and gas congress organized at Almaty, in Kazakhstan.

Patriciu added the group already dismissed 500 employees and envisages 1,500 layoffs with severance pays, subject to Rompetrol reorganization plan.

This reorganization plan targets the sale of Rompetrol non-core operations, namely the company unrelated with oil and gas sectors, he also said.

Currently, the Rompetrol group employs around 9,000 people.

The majority owner of Rompetrol Group is Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGaz, or KMG, which acquired 75% of the shares in August 2007, for $1.6 billion.

KMG informational policies director Ilia Pustogacev also said Monday the company aims to sell all operations of Romanian Rompetrol, unrelated to the production of oil and gas. It also aims to reorganize the entire group, including Rompetrol, through the sale of its non-core operations.

The program was approved in 2007 and will be enforced by 2012.

An official representative with KMG said the company’s restructuring costs could not be estimated, but expects at least EUR100 million from the sale of the non-core companies.

Patriciu is interested in buying some of these companies and currently bids for the aviation service company Eurojet, together with other Romanian and foreign legal entities, KMG officials added.

They expect at least EUR1 million from Eurojoet sale.

The Rompetrol Group operates in 13 countries, its main assets being located in Romania, France and southeastern Europe.

In Romania, Rompetrol owns two refineries, Petromidia and Vega.