Vienna  - Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG on Tuesday reported that its net profit had dropped by 34 per cent in the third quarter, as crude oil prices fell and the difference in value between crude and refined products narrowed.

OMV made a net profit of 362 million euros (541 million dollars) between July and September.

The average price of benchmark Brent oil fell by 41 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The company made sales worth 4.72 billion euros, nearly a third below the third quarter of 2008.

Operating profit went down by 23 per cent to 553 million euros.

At OMV's Romanian oil and gas subsidiary Petrom, the utilization rate of refineries has dropped to 67 per cent.

"We are well on track with the ongoing efficiency and cost control programme to reduce operating expenses and overhead costs by 300 million euros by 2010," chief executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer said.

The company reported a 13-per-cent drop in staff numbers in the 12 months leading up to September. OMV employs some 36,000 people, most of them at Petrom.

The Austrian group is still conducting talks to take over Turkey's largest oil products distributor, Petrol Ofisi, Ruttenstorfer said. (dpa)