EU probes 50 mln euros of Romanian aid to Oltchim

BRUSSELS Nov 19 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it had launched an in-depth investigation into 49.6 million euros ($73.8 million) of aid granted to chemical maker Oltchim OLTC.BX by the Romanian government.

The Commission, executive arm of the 27-nation European Union, said in a statement that it had doubts about whether the assistance, offered under a previous temporarily approved scheme, was in line with EU state aid rules.

EU regulators had launched a different probe in September after Romania announced plans to grant aid amounting to 135 million euros in a debt-to-equity swap and a 339.2 million euro guarantee for the state-controlled chemical producer. (Reporting by Bate Felix, editing by Dale Hudson)