“The interest shown by Quintana in the CE Hunedoara privatization is very important. This is a large mining company. It is the second largest owner of coal reserves in the U.S., after the federal government. It would be a major opportunity to maintain jobs in Hunedoara county,” outgoing minister-delegate for Energy Razvan Nicolescu said Monday.
The U.S. company required detailed information on the Romanian company to analyze the opportunity of a strategic investment in Hunedoara.
Nicolescu added CE Hunedoara needs urgent investments and a better management team.
Quintana Minerals Corporation was founded in 1963 as an oil and gas exploration and production services company and then became active in exploring and developing mining projects implemented across the United States. Quintana Minerals Corporation currently manages energy and natural resources for a large number of private companies listed on the stock market, including Quintana Energy.
Nicolescu met with company officials in Houston, Texas, in September. In November, the minister gave the CE Hunedoara management an ultimatum, demanding a “realistic” strategy to make the company profitable.
CE Hunedoara has nearly 6,500 employees working in four coal mines and two coal-fired power plants that covered 7% of the country’s electricity consumption last year.
The company was set up in 2012 through the merger between state-owned thermal power producers Deva and Paroseni.
The government approved its privatization strategy in March 2013. Romania hopes to raise CE Hunedoara’s capital by attracting a strategic private investor to buy 51% of the company.