Prospectiuni forecasted revenues of EUR79 million in 2015. Hence, the company met only a quarter of the objective, posting EUR26 million (116.4 million lei) revenue in the first semester, slightly down from a year before.
In the second semester, Prospectiuni has contracted only 35% of the working capability, two of its clients being Petrom and Hunt Oil.
According to Prospectiuni, the low oil price that fell 50% over the past 12 months made the oil producers to diminish or postpone exploration investments, including geological and geophysical surveys.
The uncertainty of the local fiscal regime in the oil sector as well as the absence of auctions for new hydrocarbon concessions overlaps the difficult international environment.
Romania’s mineral resources agency ANRM aims to organize a new auction in the fourth quarter of 2015 but Prospectiuni will benefit from resulting works only in the second quarter of 2016.
Prospectiuni switched to a net profit of RON10.6 million in the first semester, after reporting historic losses in 2014 over blockage and protests against oil exploration. Protests are continuing and harden Prospectiuni’s access on the perimeters western Romania, where the company works for Hungarian oil group MOL.
“The problems related to obtaining approvals and authorizations for executing the works persist. Our legislation is primarily of good quality, aligned to European norms, but there is still a high number of legislative flaws negatively influencing the activity of those representing the central or local public authority,“ according to Prospectiuni.
Prospectiuni is 55.7%-owned by local businessman Ovidiu Tender, regional investment fund SIF Muntenia holds an 11.82% stake and the remaining stake of 32.4% is distributed among several shareholders.
(English version by Manuela Panescu)