Lotos looks for oil, shuns privatization

"Our concept envisages the acquisition of a 100% stake in the Czechowice, Jaslo and Glimar refineries and in the Petrobaltic company. The state would not lose its influence on those companies since it controls Lotos," stated the Lotos president Pawel Olechnowicz. Lotos owns 69% of Petrobaltic shares and has an 80.04% stake in Czechowice, 80.01% stake in Jaslo and 91.54% stake in Glimar refineries.Lotos will not challenge one of the main assumptions of the government strategy, namely the suspension of privatization in the sector. "I believe that Lotos needs neither another share issue nor a strategic investor. Our company is doing well and is able to implement its projects on its own,"declared Olechnowicz. The company is concentrating on the diversification of oil supply sources. Lotos finalized the talks about the supply of oil from Kuwait. "We have signed a contract for the supply of 1 million barrels of oil from Kuwait," confirmed Olechnowicz. The company is also participating in the tender for the extraction of land deposits of hydrocarbons in Lithuania. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4-5) E.B.