After having replaced trips to Vienna with videoconferences to cut costs, Petrom managers have resorted to another strategy: bartering.

Tamas Mayer, member of Petrom's management in charge with marketing, who has been supervising the transformation of the filling stations of the biggest local company since the 2004 privatisation, say that although bartering had been used in the previous years, with the advent of the crisis when more and more companies are having trouble making their payments, this sale method is being used increasingly often.

"We are more cautious with the credit caps of our clients. We are looking for all sorts of ways to compensate, we are bartering. Some give us power, we give them fuel and so on and so forth. This is not a new practice, we are just using it more frequently," Mayer says.

The step is part of an entire set of anti-crisis measures, which the biggest company in Romania prepared this year. Petrom officials announced prioritisation of projects, reduction of investment budgets, shedding of 4,200 jobs in the first six months. Besides these major steps, Petrom also implemented other strategies intended to cut costs: revaluation of consultancy contracts, renegotiation of contracts with various suppliers and even replaced conferences in Vienna, the home of Petrom's majority shareholder (Austrian petroleum group OMV) with videoconferences. Also cut from the list of Petrom's expenses were trainings abroad.

Mayer says things will not be any better over the coming period, estimating that the last four months of the year will see economic conditions worsen.

"The next four months will be more difficult than the first eight. People will have less money and many will lose their jobs, which will have an impact on the demand for fuel," Mayer says.

After having replaced trips to Vienna with videoconferences to cut cos