The Anglo-Dutch group, Shell, the world's number three petroleum group, is to come to a decision regarding its operations in Romania by this summer, company officials announced.
Shell sold its filling station network in Romania to MOL Group of Hungary in two stages for a total price of 90 million dollars (73 million euros)
The petroleum giant's only remaining business in Romania is Shell Gas Romania, a joint venture on the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market, in which Shell owns 56% and Petrom 44%.
"As announced, the Shell Group has started reviewing its global LPG operations. This includes Shell's LPG interests in Romania. The review is in progress at the moment and conclusions are expected by mid year," Joel Maes, Shell Romania chairman, told Ziarul Financiar.
The announcement by Shell that it was reviewing all its LPG operations has made waves worldwide, with some investors already showing an interest in buying this business.
US-based financial investors, such as Texas Pacific Global and Bain Capital, are interested in Shell's LPG business, according to recent information in the international press. If Shell announces plans to sell its Shell Gas Romania interests, first rights would go to Petrom, the owner of the rest of the company.
However, Petrom is itself going through a restructuring process, following takeover by the Austrian company, OMV.
OMV, which bought 51% in Petrom for 1.5bn euros, will analyse which Petrom operations should be retained and which dropped in order to maximise profits. Sources close to Petrom say OMV has yet to make a decision in respect of the LPG market and, by extension, in the Petrom stake in Shell Gas Romania.
According to the latest financial statement of the company filed with the Finance Ministry, the company made 3 million euros in net profits in 2003 against a 47.3 million-euro turnover.
Shell Gas Romania is one of the top three players on the LPG market, with its market share estimated at 28-30%, according to the latest available information.
Shell entered the Romanian market in 1992 and subsequent investment by the company exceeded 220 million dollars (177 million euros), from which the returns were insufficient.
Shell sold 23 filling stations to MOL in the summer of 2003, a move followed by the sale of Shell Romania SRL to MOL on November 23, 2004.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
