Petrom spends 100m euros in finance and IT platform

Austrian Reinhard Pichler, Petrom”s chief financial officer, is in charge of the largest project related to the centralisation of accounting and IT services ever undertaken in Romania. The project is due to be finalised by 2009.

“Over the next three years, we will invest between 70 and 100 million euros to carry out this project linked to the setting up of a single finance and IT platform. We are a listed company and are bound to submit reports, according to international financial standards. Petrom is also part of OMV, whose shares are listed on the Vienna and Frankfurt stock exchanges,” states Reinhard Pichler, the company”s chief financial officer.

As many as 1,200 people will work on this financial services and IT platform, with Petrom officials intending to relocate as much of the company”s current personnel as possible and to cover the work force needs with people recruited from the market.

The IT & finance “brain” is due to start operations in 2009, located in Petrom City, the future headquarters of the oil company, which are now under development outside the capital, close to the town of Straulesti.

“We”ve initiated a reshuffling process, to concentrate the company”s finance and IT activities. Our purpose is to bring all this information to a single location, on a single IT platform, to be implemented by SAP,” explains Pichler. All Petrom”s territorial branches will be connected to the headquarters, where all the data will be centralised.

“This is SAP”s biggest project in Romania,” the Petrom representative also says. He adds that OMV, like other international corporations, includes this form of organisation because the financial department needs to be connected to the business units, in this case-exploration & production, refining and marketing.

After the system is implemented, the flow of cash through the company will be possible to monitor at all times.

Petrom, the largest company in Romania, had a decentralised structure in this respect back when it was still state-owned, which is why the centralisation of data will take more time.

Petrom”s services centre will be the biggest of this type in South-eastern Europe, according to the company”s representatives.

Eventually, the project will provide cost savings and boost efficiency.

Petrom plans to move all units to a single location, Petrom City, which is now under construction close to Straulesti. The oil company will invest more than 70 million euros in this project, according to some estimates.

Petrom posted 391 million euro profit against a 2.97 billion euro turnover last year.

This year Petrom has budgeted net income worth 552 million euros and turnover of approximately around three billion euros.

Petrom”s IT & finance “brain”

* Will entail investment between 70 and 100m euros over the next 3 years

* There will be a single platform for the company”s IT and finance activities

* A number of 1,200 people will work on the platform

* It will become operational in 2009, based in Petrom City, the future headquarters of the oil company, under development in Straulesti, close to Bucharest

* Eventually, the project will lead to cost savings and boost efficiency.