The Lithuanian media announced that the Polish PKN Orlen is considering selling Orlen Lietuva refinery (former Mazeikiu Nafta) if it will fail to secure control over Klaipedos Nafta oil terminal.

According to the Polish daily Parket the most logical buyer of Orlen Lietuva would be a company from Russia.  The paper quoted Pawel Burzinski, an analyst from BZ WBK saying, ‘”The sale of Mazeikiai is a very possible development if it will emerge that PKN Orlen has failed to agree with Lithuania’s Government. The sale of Mazeikiu Nafta may be launched by the decision of the concern’s (PKN Orlen) board.”

Mr Burzinski thinks that the sell off scenario could be such that in the first stage of it some 10-30 pct of Orlen Lietuva could be offered to an investor with an option of increasing its stake to more than 50 pct.  In analysts’ opinion, then, the PKN Orlen eventually will withdraw from the shareholders of Orlen Lietuva.

Lithuania’s Government, on the other, regards the Klaipedos Nafta as a strategic object and has not intention of selling it to any other company.  According to the TV3 programme Savaites komentarai on 24 January, the Polish PKN Orlen is planning to sell Orlen Lietuva to Russia’s  Lukoil.  However, the Russians would buy Orlen Lietuva only if the company ‘Klaipedos Nafta’ is included into the ‘package’.

According the programme, for the Poles the purchase of Mazeikiu Nafta for was a strategic acquisition in order to secure their markets from competition.  However, the economic crises has messed those plans up.  The report states that the Russian lobbyists are trying to persuade the Lithuanians and the Poles to sell Mazeiku Nafta to them.  The Mazeikiu Nafta business partner Baibakov Fund is thought to be lobbying for Rosnenft and the Gazprom interests’ are presented by the Brothers Mogomedovs from Degestan with Investment Company ‘Summa’.  Both companies have recruited Lithuanian businessmen to lobby for them here.

Further more, the report of TV3 says that the Russians are pressurising the Poles on the highest level to sell the Mazeikiu Nafta to them.  The reports states that the Poles are threatened that otherwise, the second branch of Druzba pipeline, which supplies Poland with gas, will be closed.  However, the Russians would buy Mazeikiu Nafta only if in its ‘package’ the Klaipedos Nafta is included.

Government’s Chancellor Davidas Matulionis once again admitted on the National Radio today that the Lithuania is not planning to sell Klaipedos Nafta to anyone.  He also stated that all those rumours about PKN Orlen alleged plans to sell Orlen Lietuva concerns the Lithuanian Government.  He said that a such situation would not encourage the Lithuanian Government to offer the Poles some more favourable conditions in Lithuania.  He mentioned that Lithuania is ready to resolve the logistic problems of Orlen Lietuva by offering various projects and improving business conditions for the.

Raimundas Kuodis, the Director of the Economic Department at the Central Bank of Lithuania said to the National Radio that Mazeikiu Nafta effect on the Lithuania economy is ‘over politicised.’  It has been so since Lithuanian gained independence in 20 years ago. Mazeikiu Nafta according to him is only a producer of petrol.  It does not matter who will pay taxes to the Lithuanian budget, he stated to the Radio.

In 2006 PKN Orlen paid 2.3 billion of US dollars for 84 pct of shares in Mazeikiu Nafta.