Romgaz posts 1.4 billion lei profit in 2014, 44 percent more than in 2013

Romania's main gas producer, Romgaz, has announced a preliminary net profit of 1.4 billion lei, up by 44 percent year-on-year, whilst its estimated revenues increased to 4.5 billion lei from 3.9 billion lei in 2013.

The 15 percent growth in revenues was due to the positive influence ofgas production deliveries and their price, of tariff of underground gas storage services provided to third parties during the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and of electric power deliveries and specific services provided in the electric power sector, explains the company.

On the other hand, Romgaz outlines that its revenues were negatively impacted by the reduction of import gas volumes and their delivery as commodity, a consequence of a lower demand on the gas market and of the ANRE regulations on the regulated market consumption which no have no longer the obligation to deliver a mix of domestic gas and import gas.

Revenues from the underground storage activity increased by 16.7 percent y-o-y, being estimated at 426 million lei, while revenues generated by the electric power sector amounting to about 324.6 million lei.

Last year, Romgaz continued the petroleum operations to consolidate the production level for both exploration and production operations and it increased its exploration investments by 1.9 percent to nearly 428 million lei, funds which were mainly directed towards 2D and 3D seismic surveys performed in Moldova, Muntenia, and Oltenia regions and drilling of 22 exploration wells.

Romgaz’s natural gas production in 2014 came to 5.66 billion cm, maintaining the same level as a year ago and covering a market share of 47.4 percent of the gas sales from domestic production, about 3 percent smaller than in 2013. At the same time, Romgaz accounts for 2.4 percent from Romania's total electric power production.