“2013 will be the year of dialog with authorities. The tax regulation framework must create a win-win situation. (…) We want a good outcome for both parties,” said Gheorghe.
According to Gheorghe, if taxes are too high, investments will see a decline.
End-January this year, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said the government wants to increase the royalty rates levied on natural gas and oil producers earlier than the 2015 deadline agreed with Austria’s OMV nine years ago, when the latter bought the majority stake in Petrom.
“It is our intention not only to increase the royalty fees, but also to find a solution to increase them earlier than the term stipulated in the privatization contract,” Ponta told an energy seminar in Vienna at the end of January.
Romania has implemented a set of fixed royalty fees for oil and gas companies ranging between 3.5% and 13% of the production value. The fees, established under Petrom’s privatization contract in 2004, are applicable through December 2014.
Last year, Petrom announced it had started talks with the Romanian authorities regarding the royalty rates levied on local companies.
Romania collects around 1 billion lei (EUR227 million) in gas and oil royalties annually. (EUR1=RON4.3863)