National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) approved the takeover by OMV Petrom of Repsol’s interest in four onshore exploration licenses. Following NAMR’s approval, OMV Petrom becomes sole titleholder and operator of the four exploration blocks V Băicoi, VI Târgoviște, XII Pitești and XIII Târgu Jiu.

The farm-out agreements for the four blocks were concluded in 2013, OMV Petrom being the operator, with a 51% interest, while Repsol had the remaining 49% participation interest.

In the 2nd quarter of 2018, Repsol notified OMV Petrom of its intention to exit the licenses and the parties reached an agreement, pending approval from the authorities. OMV Petrom SA will continue the ongoing projects and will take over the pending commitments according to the concession agreement.

The investments done under the Joint Operating Agreement amount to more than 200 million USD until today, including 2D and 3D data acquisition campaigns and drilling of two deep and complex, high pressure wells. A third exploration well is currently in the drilling phase, below 5,000 m.

About OMV Petrom

OMV Petrom is the largest integrated oil and gas group in South-Eastern Europe, with an annual oil and gas production of approximately 65 mn boe in 2015. The Group has a refining capacity of 4.5 mn tons / year and operates an 860 MW high efficiency power plant and a 45 MW wind park. OMV Petrom is present on the oil products retail markets in Romania and neighboring countries through approximately 800 filling stations as of end of 2015.

OMV, one of Austria's largest listed industrial companies, holds a 51.01% share in OMV Petrom. The Romanian state, via the Ministry of Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Business Environment, holds 20.64% of OMV Petrom shares, Fondul Proprietatea (Restitution Funds) holds 18.99% and 9.36% is free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

About Repsol

Repsol is one of the top companies in the oil and gas industry. Repsol is present across the entire value chain: exploration and production, transformation, development, and marketing of energy that is efficient, sustainable, and competitive for millions of people.