Erste Group bullish on EMEA Oil & Gas on strong fundamentals

** Erste Group research is bullish on EMEA Oil & Gas companies, noting robust fundamentals, strong cash flows and does not expect the outside environment to deteriorate

** The broker forecasts only slight refining margins fall from the record highs of 2022/23, with a crude oil price likely to rise due to limited supply growth and robust demand

** It forecasts the Brent price from 2025 to be at an average of $100/barrel, while natural gas prices could stabilize at 30 EUR/MWh in Europe, adding that petrochemical margins might rebound only slowly from the recent bottoms

** Its top pick in the sector is Romanian OMV Petrom SNP, citing its strong balance sheet, rich dividend payments and the Neptun Deep project

** It ups Austrian OMV OMV to "buy" from "accumulate", citing supporting fundamentals, as the only weak area lies in chemicals, adding that merging Borouge and Borealis could be a significant stock price catalyst

** Erste Group research ups MOL MOL to "accumulate" from "hold", saying the Hungarian oil and gas group enjoys the current environment, however still sees the risk of special taxation due to the budget deficit in Hungary