China CEFC takes over Rompetrol Romania assets

The takeover of the Rompetrol Group by the Chinese company CEFC will be a long-term partnership that will be beneficial to both the oil company and for Romania, said Catalin Dumitru, VP of KMG International (the former Rompetrol Group).

The partnership could last a few decades, he added, reports local Profit.ro.

In December last year, CEFC China Energy Company Ltd, a private Chinese investment group, agreed to buy 51% of KMG International, a unit of Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas company KazMunayGas, which owns refining and fuel distribution assets in Europe.

KMG International is the former Rompetrol Group, which was built by Romanian investor Dinu Patriciu, who sold it to KazMunayGas in 2007, in a USD 2.7 billion deal, the biggest private transaction in Romania’s history. The group’s most valuable assets are located in Romania, namely the Petromidia refinery and a distribution network of about 400 fuel stations.

Rompetrol plans to open 15 new gas stations in Romania this year, said Dumitru. Last year, the group opened five new stations.