The first option the management is considering is positioning the terminal as a hub for export of fuel by sea, which will serve not only Romania’s remaining refineries but also the nearby landlocked countries, Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Their products should be shipped by Danube to Constanta, stored in Oil Terminal’s tanks while waiting for a sufficient capacity ship to arrive and then loaded onto that ship at a rate of 8,000 tons a day.
“The market consisting of the refineries of those countries is expected to be relatively stable, because the refineries in the aforementioned region were upgraded to the latest technology to produce the highest percentage of diesel oil possible,” the members of the Board of Directors said in the plan submitted to shareholders for approval.
The majority shareholder of the Romanian government via the Economy Ministry, which holds almost 60% in it, while Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) owns another 6.3%. The rest of the company is held by stock market investors. Oil Terminal’s market capitalization is 57 million lei (EUR13 million).
The company got a new board in August. Chairman of the board is Laurentiu Ciorcirlan, investment banker with Raiffeisen Bank. The other board members are Mihai Daniel Anitei, general manager of Azomures, Valeriu Ivan, Cristian Mihai Chebac, Corin Comsulea and STAAR Rating company.
Oil Terminal shareholders are expected to vote on the plan during the general meeting on December 22.
Oil Terminal’s traditional market has shrunk by almost 70% in the past decade, once most Romanian oil refineries closed and the Rompetrol group built its own terminal at its Black Sea Coast refinery Petromidia.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)