Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom (ROSNP.BX), majority-controlled by Austria’s OMV (OMVV.VI) will pay an additional tax on the crude oil it refines, Romanian lawmakers decided on Wednesday.

Lawmakers approved changes to a bill which enforced a solidarity tax for energy companies agreed by the European Commission. Initially, the bill set a larger tax which would have applied retroactively to OMV Petrom, a move the company has said stoked regulatory instability and threatened new investment.

The new bill, which still needs to be signed into law by the president, introduces a tax of 350 lei ($78.55) per tone of refined crude, which adds up to an estimated 300 million euros in additional tax.

Petrom declined to comment on Wednesday.

The company is expected to make a final investment decision by mid-2023 on a large offshore Black Sea gas project. The project has been delayed by previous taxes and regulations introduced.

($1 = 4.4558 lei)
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)