No services suppliers for Petrom

According to Trade and Economy minister Dan Ioan Popescu, the contenders to be allowed in the Petrom privatisation race must deal with oil exports and processing, with the equipment or service suppliers ruled out. “When we say oil and gas companies, we have in mind a company with experience in the field, with crude oil exports and processing operations, and not suppliers,” Popescu specified. According to the minister, when the Petrom privatisation notice was released, procedures had been completed and the company’s General Meeting of Shareholders had already approved the changes in SNP’s status so as to allow the sale of the state’s main stake in Petrom. As regards a possible interest from the part of US group Halliburton, the minister said that the press published contradictory information on the group’s participation and that “Halliburton has plenty of time to express its interest”. ZF