Petrom inaugurates Petrom City- the company\'s new headquarters

Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in Southeastern Europe inaugurates today Petrom City, the headquarters that will host the company’s central operations. Situated in the northern part of Bucharest, it will host around 2,500 employees from 7 headquarters of the company in Bucharest and Ploiesti. The employees’ relocation process started in the 4th quarter of this year and is estimated to be finalized in the 2nd quarter of 2011. Mariana Gheorghe, Petrom CEO: \"This is a special moment for us in Petrom. Today we inaugurate more than a building: an inspirational space, which celebrates innovation, transparency and flexibility. Petrom City is both an architectural landmark for the northern area of Bucharest – to whose development it contributed, and a milestone for our evolution as a company, for our objectives and values.\" Reinhard Pichler added: \"As CFO, I must say it was not easy for us to continue a project of such magnitude, during a difficult period for the economic environment. The project was started before the first signs of the economic crisis appeared, so we had to adapt and search for the best solutions to ensure the necessary funds in a profoundly changed economic environment\". The project started with the largest rehabilitation project in Romania of the land where the Petrom City complex is built. The land, a former oil products storage, was bombed during the Second World War and the damaged reservoirs caused the contamination of the soil. Following the ecological rehabilitation, a 200,000 sqm land was returned to the city. Petrom City is formed of two office buildings, a data center – one of the most modern in Europe, a 5 MW power plant and a 900 spaces parking area, on a constructed surface of 100,000 sqm. The high energy efficiency of the buildings, around 90%, compared to an average of 40 – 60% present in most recently constructed buildings, contributes to the uniqueness of the project in Romania. The data center offers a move-in ready facility providing an environment to support mission critical infrastructure services with advanced cooling, power, redundancy and sustainability features. The operation of the data center was taken over through a 10 year agreement by IBM, the most innovative IT company worldwide, who will supply the best industry services to Petrom, OMV and other clients in Romania. The concept of environmental branding was used for the first time in Romania and consisted of creating special elements of furniture and interior design, so that all spaces reflect the company’s values and philosophy. The project included the construction of the road infrastructure, both inside Petrom City as well as in its perimeter, not only for the employees’ access but also for the area’s development. The roads, in total length of 1.7 km, are equipped with lighting system, green spaces and bicycle tracks. In addition, the entire cable network is underground – in line with the new “Net City” standards. The economic impact of the project is significant. Around 4,000 people from over 150 companies (over 80% of them Romanian companies) worked on Petrom City, in various stages of the construction works. The total investment amounted to over EUR 130 million and covered the costs with the ecological rehabilitation, infrastructure project, buildings construction and the power plant. Sursa: www.petrom.com