New functions for Gheorghe Constantinescu in OMV Group and New CEO of Petrom

Mr. Constantinescu, who has been Chief Executive Officer of Petrom since February 2003 and has contributed significantly to the successful development of the company before, during privatization and since then, takes on new responsibilities in OMV Group.

As from June 15th, 2006, he will be appointed Senior Counsellor to the President of OMV Group, Mr. Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, responsible for the transformation of Petrom following EU regulations to come (product specifications, competition, environment, gas market deregulation etc). In this function he will closely liaise with the OMV/Petrom representative office in Brussels and the OMV headquarter in Vienna.

His today’s responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer of Petrom will be taken over by Mrs. Mariana Gheorghe by June 15th, 2006, who is resigning from Petrom’s Board of Directors as of today. Mrs. Gheorghe has been with the EBRD for the last 13 years, managing a wide range of international financing transactions and working extensively with Romania and Petrom.

Besides the coordination function of the Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Gheorghe will be responsible for Corporate Strategy, Human Resources, Health/Safety/Environment/Quality and Communication.

Mariana Gheorghe – Curriculum Vitae

Born in Romania in 1956, married, 1 child.
Graduate of the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest and of the University of Law of Bucharest. Graduate of the Corporate Finance program with the London Business School.
1991-1993: Deputy General Director at the Ministry of Finance.
1993 -present: Mrs. Gheorghe joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London. She worked for the EBRD in various countries, dealing with a variety of clients and industries, retaining a strong focus on Romania and the oil & gas sector. She has been board director of Petrom since its privatisation.

Background Information
Petrom SA
Petrom is the largest Romanian oil and gas group, with activities in the business segments of Exploration and Production, Refining and Petrochemicals, as well as Sales and Marketing. Petrom has estimated oil and gas reserves of 1 billion boe, an annual refining capacity of 8 million metric tons and around 550 filling stations in Romania. The company also has an international network with 82 filling stations located in Moldova and Hungary. This network was increased by 178 OMV premium stations in Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia-Montenegro, acquired in January 2006. In 2005 the turnover of Petrom was EUR 2,970 million, EBITDA was EUR 766 million. Following the share capital increase OMV, the leading oil and gas group in Central Europe holds a 51,011% share in Petrom. OMV is active in Refining and Marketing, Exploration and Production, Gas as well as Chemicals in 28 countries on five continents. The Romanian state holds 30.862% of Petrom shares, Property Fund SA holds 9,887%, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2.026% and 6.214% are owned by minority shareholders.