Petrom loses ground in fuel retail

Petrom, Romania”s largest company has lost market share on the filling station segment, and its own brand will be relaunched by the end of the year, stated Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, the chairman of the OMV Group, the majority shareholder of the Romanian company. The statement was made at the Vienna Economic Forum, a Romanian-Austrian forum discussing business. “Approximately 300 stations in Petrom”s network meet our quality standards, while the others will be upgraded,” Ruttenstorfer explained. Petrom officials say the company accounts for some 35% of the filling stations market. Petrom”s network comprises about 600 petrol stations, but only half of them actually attain the sales average of the market. A retooling budget has already been endorsed for Petrom”s stations, as the company has sufficient cash flow to carry out one billion euro investments in Romania over the next two or three years, Ruttenstorfer says. Petrom”s portfolio is divided among three core businesses: exploration and production, refining and marketing, and natural gases. ZF