Fitch: Rompetrol's liquidity is insufficient to cover its short-term debt

Financial ratings agency Fitch believes that the Rompetrol group, controlled by Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGaz and run by Dinu Patriciu, is facing high refinancing risk, as the company’s available liquidity is insufficient to cover its short-term debt of 706 million dollars (at end of March 2009). Fitch downgraded Rompetrol group’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to “B”, from “B plus”, with the rating outlook on this being negative. The EBITDA of the group that posted an 8.7 billion-dollar business in 2008 is expected to remain under pressure, due to the downturn in the oil-refining sector, Fitch adds. The Rompetrol group is 75% controlled by Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGaz, whilst Dinu Patriciu holds around 25%. Rompetrol Rafinare (Rompetrol Refining – RRC), the group’s main company in Romania, posted non-consolidated losses worth 291 million RON (69 million euros) in the first three months of the year and had debt worth 3.18 billion RON (757 million euros).