Petrom shareholders elect new Board of Directors

• Petrom Board of Directors consists of four OMV members, two government representatives and one member of EBRD
• Petrom will build on its strength and improve upstream business, modernise refineries and retail network and services

On January 11, the Petrom shareholders elected a new Board of Directors for Petrom. In accordance with the privatization agreement OMV has proposed four members. The Romanian Government proposed two further members and one member was jointly proposed by OMV/Romanian Government. The newly elected Board of Directors replaces the Interim Directors who resigned today and were released from their duties by the general meeting of shareholders.

The new Board of Directors of Petrom consists of seven members, four of which are the OMV Executive Board (Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, Gerhard Roiss, David C. Davies, Helmut Langanger), with OMV CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer acting as President of the Board of Directors. The two Board members appointed by the Romanian Government are Dorin Mucea and Sebastian Vladescu. Furthermore the one member nominated jointly by OMV and the Romanian government is Mariana Gheorghe of EBRD. The Managing Committee of Petrom has been already appointed by the Interim Directors and will remain unchanged.

The new management and the Board of Directors expressed their trust and faith in the company and its employees. The combination of Petrom and OMV will work as a strong and capable force through the region of Central and Eastern Europe with the ambition to further grow and improve the company's current position. Petrom will use the proceeds of the capital increase to strengthen its upstream business, modernise the refineries and infrastructure related thereto and further improve and modernise the retail network.

Background Information on Board of Directors
Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) OMV
Gerhard Roiss - Deputy CEO OMV
David C. Davies - Chief Financial Officer OMV
Helmut Langanger - Member of the Board of OMV responsible for E&P
Dorin Mucea - Senior Advisor to the Minister of Economy and Commerce, responsible for privatization
Sebastian Vladescu - Member of the Administration Council of C.E.R.O.P.E.
Mariana Gheorghe - Senior Banker EBRD, London

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, refining capacity of 8 million metric tons and 600 filling stations. In 2003 the sales revenue of the group was EUR 2,031 million, EBITDA was EUR 342 million.