AVAS: Petrom's privatisation conducted in compliance with the contract

OMV was one of the buyers that did not create any trouble for the State Assets Resolution Authority (AVAS) in the post-privatisation monitoring process, as the institution closely followed the terms of Petrom’s sales contract, according to AVAS. AVAS will follow the same strict procedures for the other 4,782 contracts currently under post-privatisation monitoring, added the quoted source. Comparing Rompetrol’s sale with Petrom’s privatisation, the minister of economy and finance, Varujan Vosganian expressed his lack of trust over the correctness of Petrom’s privatisation. “Unfortunately, Petrom’s sale was conducted in haste, due to its precarious financial situation,” stated Vosganian. In 2004, Austrian-based OMV took over Petrom, which involved the acquisition of state shares and a capital increase with a cumulated value of 1.5 billion euros.