OMV Petrom announces a 13% increase in consolidated sales in the first nine months of the year compared to 2018, up to 18.2 billion lei, supported by higher sales in both the oil and natural gas sectors. The net profit was about 2.8 billion lei, up 3% compared to the similar period of 2018.
The operating result of the CCA remained close to 3.5 billion lei, with a smaller contribution of the third quarter of 2019, which was mainly influenced by the drop in oil prices and volumes of hydrocarbons.
The investments amounted to 2.8 billion lei, and the contribution to the state budget of Romania between January and September 2019 was about 9 billion lei.
In the exploration and production segment, the operating result excluding the special elements was 2.1 billion lei, down by 12% compared to the same period last year. The average price of Ural crude oil was $ 64.66 per barrel (USD/bbl), down by 9%. The group’s daily production decreased by 6%, mainly due to the natural decline of the deposits and the transfer of nine deposits. OMV Group’s gas production in Romania decreased by 8%. The cost of production remained stable at $ 11.1 per barrel of oil equivalent.
In the oil processing segment, the operating result of CCA excluding special elements was 1.1 billion lei, up by 16%. The utilization rate of the Petrobrazi refinery was 96% in the first nine months, reaching 99% in the third quarter. The refining margin of OMV Petrom was 4.67 USD/bbl, influenced by the evolution of international prices of crude oil and petroleum products. The retail volumes of the Group increased by 4% due to the increase in demand in Romania and in the region.
In the natural gas segment, the operating result excluding the special elements was 197 million lei, comparable to the that in the first nine months of 2018. Sales of natural gas to third parties amounted to 30.13 TWh, up by 3%, and net electricity production decreased by 9%, to 2.13 TWh, due to unfavorable market conditions in the second quarter of this year.
The volume of natural gas from deposits rose to 4.3 TWh at the end of the third quarter, compared with 3.5 TWh at the end of the third quarter in 2018.