Romania's Petrom in power plant deal with GE, Metka

BUCHAREST, March 31 (Reuters) - Romania's largest oil and gas firm Petrom SNPP.BX signed a deal with a consortium made of General Electric Co. (GE.N) and Greece's Metka (MTKr.AT) to build a power plant by September 2011, the company said.

The value of the deal was 400 million euros ($631.1 million) and the facility, which will be built in the southern town of Brazi, will use natural gas. It is expected to reach a power output of over 860 MW.

About 20 percent of the plant's capacity will be used to cover Petrom's energy consumption, while the rest will be sold on the Romanian energy market. Construction is expected to start at the beginning of next year.

The company wants to provide up to 9 percent of Romania's electricity output by 2012. (Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by David Holmes)