Rompetrol CEO hopes for Navodari-Trieste pipeline, not Constanta-Trieste

Saduokhas Meraliyev, Rompetrol Group CEO, has said that his preference is for an oil pipeline between Navodari (Petromidia platform) and Trieste in Italy, to transport the refined oil for the refinery to Western Europe, rather than the alternative proposition.

“If the PEOP project is implemented, we are interested in participating. We would like the Petromidia refinery in Navodari to be the end of the pipeline. It is my personal dream to have a Navodari-Trieste pipeline, not Constanta-Trieste,” said Meraliyev at the Kazakh Business Forum event organized by Business Review. Authorities from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have expressed on several occasions their interest in this project. Romania, Serbia and Croatia inked in April 2008 an agreement for the formation of the project company for the Pan European Oil Pipeline (PEOP) Constanta-Trieste pipeline. Italy, the fourth country which could be involved in the project, has not announced its position regarding PEOP.

According to Meraliyev, the company plans to increase capacity at the Petromidia refinery by 25 percent to 5 million tons of raw materials by 2011.

Recently, Romanian politicians opened the subject of Rompetrol’s historic debt. The CEO said talks with the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance were ongoing in order to identify solutions to clear Petromidia’s USD 603 million of debt.

“There is no final solution, negotiations are continuing. We hope to solve this issue soon,” said Meraliyev.

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The Rompetrol Group has to date paid USD 8 billion to the state budget since 2000, of which USD 3.5 billion was handed over in 2007, when the majority stake in the oil company was acquired by state-run KazMunaiGaz from Kazakhstan.

“The group’s total investment from 2007-2009 reached USD 700 million, and for this year Rompetrol has earmarked around USD 240 million, of which USD 170 will be used to continue the development plans of the Petromidia refinery,” said Meraliyev.

Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu sold 75 percent of the Rompetrol Group to state-owned KazMunaiGaz in Kazakhstan. In June last year he said he had sold the Kazakh company the remaining 25 percent.

Dana Ciuraru