Rompetrol descent in Bulgaria

Rompetrol, the leading private oil operator in Romania, managed to grab a 10% slice of the Bulgarian wholesale fuel market, Eris Chis, VP in charge of development and investments said. In order to tackle the neighbouring market, Rompetrol preferred to buy a fuel unloading terminal in the Ruse Harbour and upgrade it, instead of opening gas stations, with the total investment amounting to $4 million. The fuels unloaded at this terminal are then sold to local distributors. The number one player in Bulgaria is Lukoil, which owns the refinery in Burgas and the competitors include Shell and OMV. “This percentage is unexpectedly good, we’re now experiencing capacity problems in Bulgaria. We must also say that Ruse is located in the poorer side of Bulgaria, as the south of the country and its seaside are more developed,” Chis specified. He says the Bulgarian fuel market is small but the prices are higher than those in Romania, are deregulated and the gains are more attractive. Other regional expansion directions the group is contemplating for this year are Turkey and Macedonia. ZF