On January 8, Petrom lowered the price of gasoline and diesel oil by RON 0.07 per liter, as a result of the fall in oil prices. Moreover, this year the oil company has also modified the weekend discount it had in force last year. Up to the end of 2014 OMV Petrom had a discount of RON 0.07 per liter for gasoline and LPG sold on Saturdays and Sundays. This year the system has been modified: the weekend discount is of RON 0.05 per liter, but will also be applied for diesel oil, the type of fuel that is most sold in Romania. The discount is offered in 190 large gas stations that have significant sales volumes, out of the approximately 550 gas stations that the company has at national level. In Bucharest the discount is offered in 16 of the city’s 59 Petrom gas stations. The discounts are posted at the gas stations.
At the end of last year, as a result of the fall in fuel prices generated by the 50 per cent drop in oil prices over the previous six months, gasoline prices dropped below the RON 5 per liter threshold in the company’s cheapest gas stations, those located in Moldavia. It has to be pointed out that large gasoline networks do not have the same fuel price all over the country, with prices being different even within the same city. Thus, for instance, prices in Bacau are smaller than those in Bucharest and in Bucharest prices in Berceni area are lower than those in Dorobanti.
Fuel prices dropped because of the drastic fall in global oil prices, the barrel of oil dropping below USD 50, less than half the level it had in mid-2014. The price of gasoline has dropped by 20 per cent and the price of diesel oil by approximately 17 per cent in Romania too, but Premier Victor Ponta expressed his dissatisfaction with the price cuts and has asked for even higher cuts. ““I publicly ask the two ministers – the Transport Minister and the Finance Minister – to have a normal, institutional discussion between the government and private fuel sector companies, because the excise tax has remained like it was in 2014, all the taxes are like they were in 2014, the price of oil has dropped all over the world, the only place where it isn’t dropping is here. Sure, the price is not set by the government, but I am absolutely convinced that a serious discussion with the companies will help us reach a fair and reasonable price,” Ponta said.
OMV Petrom is the leader of the fuel distribution market in Bucharest, followed by Rompetrol, Lukoil and Mol.
