OMV Petrom posts net profit of 2.86 billion lei last year, up 122%

OMV Petrom posted a net profit of 2.86 billion lei last year, 122% higher than the previous year, according to a release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.

Sales revenues increased by 32% to 26 billion lei.

"Our results in 2021 are supported by a strong oil market environment, the excellent use of our assets and the increase in energy demand. However, the result of the exploitation of CCA EBIT excluding special items is below the value recorded in 2019. The market environment with high gas prices does not reflect in our results due to the extremely high level of taxation," said company CEO Christina Verchere.

The company's contribution to the state budget stood at a record level of 12.3 billion lei.

"This increase was also due to natural gas taxation, which tripled compared to 2020. This was due to a significant difference between the reference natural gas price and the achieved price. Consequently, the taxation regime for production of gas in Romania has become even more uncompetitive, significantly above the European average," continued Verchere.

This puts pressure on investments in Romania, endangering the supply from domestic natural gas production.

"Failure to amend the Offshore Law will delay the final decision to invest in Neptun Deep, by 2023. For Romania to benefit from its natural gas resources, the authorities need to intervene urgently," said the OMV Petrom chief.