OMV Petrom signs agreement to transfer 40 fields to Dacian Petroleum S.R.L.

By Edwig Ban
OMV Petrom S.A., the largest energy company in South-Eastern Europe, reached an agreement for the transfer of 40 onshore oil and gas fields in Romania to Dacian Petroleum S.R.L. as part of a business transfer arrangement. The transfer of rights and obligations under the concession agreements is subject to approval by the relevant authorities, pursuant to the Petroleum Law.
The transfer is part of the portfolio optimization program within the Upstream Division of OMV Petrom, which aims to streamline operations and focuses on the core and most profitable fields.
The 40 fields to be transferred, located in Southern Romania, have a cumulated oil and gas production of approximately 1,700 boe/day, representing roughly 1% of OMV Petrom’s production.
Dacian Petroleum S.R.L. enters into the business transfer arrangement with a view to extending the life cycle of the 40 fields, which are considered marginal for OMV Petrom. Under the agreement, OMV Petrom will also transfer wells and related oil and gas infrastructure, together with approximately 190 employees.
The selection process for the company to take over the licenses was conducted according to best international practices. The process spanned over 30 months and several operating companies from Romania and abroad participated in it.
This is the third divestment within OMV Petrom’s Upstream portfolio optimization program. Previously, 28 other fields were divested: 19 fields in August 2017 and another 9 in March 2019, all to Mazarine Energy Romania S.R.L.
OMV Petrom is the largest energy company in South-Eastern Europe, with an annual Group hydrocarbon production of 58.3 million boe in 2018. The Group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tons annually and operates an 860 MW high efficiency power plant. The Group is present on the oil products retail market in Romania and neighboring countries through 790 filling stations, at the end of September 2019, under two brands – OMV and Petrom.
Dacian Petroleum SRL is a company established in November 2018 by Ion Popa S.A., former general manager of Petrom until 2003, before privatization, along with Andrew Becnel, former CFO of the oil services company Weatherford, Thomas Bruni and Bernard Jacques Duroc Danner ( former Weatherford CEO).
The four individual shareholders each hold 12% of Dacian Petroleum shares, while the majority shareholder is the company Rotary Petroleum Co, wholly owned by Leonardo Crăciun.