KazMunayGas acquires stake in Rompetrol

Kazakh state-owned KazMunayGas acquired 75 percent of Romania's Rompetrol for $2.7 billion.

Rompetrol hopes to acquire access to energy resources that will boost independence from Russian raw material supplies.

"This transaction guarantees the rapid development of Rompetrol through access to Kazakhstan's resources," Dinu Patriciu, chairman and owner of the Rompetrol Group, told reporters.

Patriciu, whom the Romanian press now considers the wealthiest Romanian citizen after the transaction, said Europe fears the long-term security of Russian oil and gas imports, the Hungarian business newswire reported.