The International Chamber of Commerce in Paris has ruled that Romania’s environment ministry must pay Austria’s OMV group nearly 300 million lei, the company said in its quarterly report.
The ICC’s Arbitral Tribunal ruled on July 9 that Romania must pay 287.62 million lei, worth about 59.47 million euros, in compensation plus interest to OMV Petrom, the Romanian oil and gas group, G4Media reported.
The sum covers the cost of decommissioning wells and environmental works supported by OMV Petrom, which the company was owed from the Romanian state, according to the privatization contract.
“The impact of the award is reflected in Q2/20 results and is mainly related to the recognition of an interest income in the net financial result,” the report reads.
OMV launched the case against Romania in March 2017, after the environment ministry failed to make the payments specified in the 2014 privatization contract.
When Romania sold Petrom to the Austrians, the government agreed to pay OMV the costs of closing old wells and making the sites environmentally green over a period of 30 years, which would cost more than half a billion euros according to estimates.
OMV purchased a 51% state of Petrom in 2004 in a 1.5 billion euro deal, in which the state received 668 million euros. The remainder was invested in the company as a capital increase.
OMV has already recovered its initial investment from dividends. The Romanian state holds a 20.64% stake in the company.
