Rompetrol Rafinare SA, Romania's second-biggest oil refiner, surged for a second straight day in Bucharest trading after Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGaz National Co. agreed to buy control of the refiner's parent company, reported Bloomberg.

Rompetrol rose 14 percent, the maximum allowed in a single day by the Bucharest Stock Exchange, to 0.128 lei as of 10:20 a.m. local time, bringing its gains in two days to 31 percent.

KazMunaiGaz, Kazakhstan's state-owned oil and gas company, agreed to buy a 75 percent stake in The Rompetrol Group, which owns Rompetrol Rafinare, the companies said in a joint news statement yesterday.

Analysts at Raiffeisen Capital & Investment Research today upgraded their recommendation on Rompetrol shares to ``buy'' from ``sell,'' citing the company's increased financial power after the takeover. They predicted the price will rise to 0.142 lei per share in 12 months.

Both companies declined to say how much KazMunaiGaz agreed to pay, although Rompetrol said yesterday the entire group was valued at $3.6 billion. A 75 percent stake would be worth $2.7 billion. At today's share price, the refining unit would be worth 2.7 billion lei ($1.13 billion).

KazMunaiGaz is buying Rompetrol, which owns 40 separate companies, including services stations, drilling operations or depots in 11 countries, as it fights for access to major consumers in Europe. Both Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union on Jan. 1, increasing their access to western markets.