Bids for Gdansk Refinery stake due by Sept. 28

Nafta Polska disclosed yesterday that more than 50 firms were invited to place a bid-including Shell, British Petroleum, Exxon and Agip-but those companies without an invitation may bid as well. An informational memorandum prepared by privatization advisers Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Business Management & Finance is scheduled for release on July 31. Gdansk Refinery processes more than 4.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually and controls about 20% of the local market in Poland. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 3, Reuters)