The sale to KazMunayGaz (KMG) of about 25% of the shares owned by the Romanian government in Rompetrol Rafinare in exchange for 200 million dollars may be stuck in the Ministry of Finance, sources close to the situation say. The Ministry would like the government to sell the rights which are under dispute in the case of Rompetrol, rather than some of the shares it owns.
The deal between the Romanian state and KMG, the shareholder of Rompetrol Rafinare, was heavily criticized by economic analysts, as it was considered a bad deal for Romania.
The Government is now trying to fix up the mess, by selling half of the stake it owns in Rompetrol Rafinare, and calculates that at the same time it will also lose about 440 million dollars of the total debt and hoping that it would get the amount back in time, thanks to its stake in the investment fund which KMG will create.
The draft law concerning the trade between KazMunayGaz and the Romanian government, which was announced in February 2013, needs to get all the necessary clearances before going before the Parliament for approval, and the ministry of Finance has not yet approved it, the quoted sources say.
In the draft law agreed upon by the OPSPI and KazMunayGaz, the conclusion of the deal is subject to the Romanian state dropping the lawsuits against Rompetrol and the creation of an investment fund, in which the government would become a shareholder together with KazMunayGaz, for projects which the Rompetrol group will conduct in Romania and in the region. The Kazakh company will pay 30 million dollars in the accounts of the state, in order to participate in this fund. As a shareholder, the Romanian state will receive all the benefits resulting from the operations of the future fund.
On Friday, in Constanţa, PM Victor Ponta has reached an agreement with Rompetrol on the receivable owed by the
