Ad-hoc Report - Petrom expects to book additional expense provisions mainly for further legal claims from employees in Q4/08

In compliance with Law no. 297/2004 and Regulation no. 1/2006 of CNVM

Date of report : January 27, 2009
Name of issuer : PETROM S.A.
Headquarters : Bucharest, Calea Dorobantilor no. 239, sector 1
Telephone/fax number : +40 372 429 082/ +40 372 868544
Sole registration number at the Trade Register Office: 1590082
Fiscal attribute : R
Trade Register Number: J 40/8302/1997
Share capital: 5,664,410,833.5 RON
Regulated market on which the issued shares are traded: Bucharest Stock Exchange

Significant event to be reported:

Petrom expects to book additional expense provisions mainly for further legal claims from employees in Q4/08

Petrom plans to book certain provisions in its Q4/08 results to reflect a write-down of its investments in Russia following unsuccessful exploration activities. Furthermore the ongoing restructuring of business operations will also result in additional provisions.

Petrom has continued to receive claims from both current and previous employees with regards to the interpretations of the Collective Labour Agreement. Petrom will defend its position against these claims, but considers it prudent to make provisions against these legal challenges in its Q4/08 results.

Taking these Q4/08 provisions into account it is likely that Petrom’s dividend for 2008 will be significantly below that for 2007.

Mariana Gheorghe
Chief Executive Officer