Turkey may ban sale of OMV Petrol Ofisi to Dutch Vitol

Turkey can terminate the deal on the sale of OMV Petrol Ofisi to VIP Turkey Enerji AS, a subsidiary of the Dutch Vitol Investment Partnership Ltd, due to the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Amsterdam, Turkish media outlets reported.

Earlier, OMV, the international integrated oil and gas company based in Vienna, agreed to sell 100 percent of the shares in its wholly owned subsidiary OMV Petrol Ofisi to VIP Turkey Enerji AS.

Relevant confirmation must be obtained from Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority and Competition Authority to carry out this operation.

It was earlier reported that Austria’s OMV was selling its Turkish subsidiary, since, as a part of its strategy, it intends to focus on mining companies and integrated activities on oil refining. In this regard, OMV started selling 100 percent of shares in OMV Petrol Ofisi AS.

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, Saudi Aramco, Petromin-C Port and Vitol participated in the final stage of the tender to acquire OMV assets.

The diplomatic conflict between Turkey and the Netherlands broke out as the Dutch authorities’ decided to, for security reasons, prohibit Turkish politicians from delivering a speech in the Netherlands in support of constitutional reform in Turkey.

On March 11, the Dutch government first canceled the Turkish foreign minister's flight permit to the Netherlands and then blocked a convoy carrying Turkey’s family minister from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam.

Protests erupted outside the consulate in Rotterdam, where Dutch police used guard dogs and batons to disperse an aggressive crowd gathering in support of Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya.

In response, Turkey sent two notes of protest to the Netherlands due to blocking of Turkish ministers’ visits to the country and ill-treatment of Turkish citizens by the Dutch police. (Trend.az)