Romanian Govt Talks To Petrom On Refinery Reopening - Sources

"There were talks launched on getting Arpechim reopened, but the final decision belongs to Petrom, which considers its own economic interest. (…) We cannot activate the contract clause protecting the Romanian oil market, because this clause refers exclusively to situations of prolonged oil shortage," people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX.

In 2010, the Arpechim refinery was only active for three months and Petrom's board recently said it will permanently shut down the Arpechim refinery, since there were no "credible" buyers found.

Petrom posted a record net profit of 2.19 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1035) in 2010, the highest profit seen since privatization in 2004.

The company is 51.01% owned by Austrian group OMV, while the Economy Ministry holds a 20.64% stake. Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) holds 20.11%, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 2.03% and 6.21% of stock is free float.

Thursday, Petrom shares were up 0.5% at RON0.432.

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