Lotos strengthens position in Silesia via Slovnaft takeover

Thanks to this operation its network of outlets should stand at 440 stations at the end of 2005, while next year the figure should increa se to roughly 500. The new outlets are located mostly in the south of Poland in Silesia, which is one of the strategic regions for the company and until recently was least penetrated by the oil giant. "We are shifting from our ow n branded outlets towards partner cooperation," said deputy president of Lot os Wojciech Kowalczyk. At the end of 2005 the company should have an 8% shar e of the market, and this is likely to rise to 9% at the end of next year. L otos' mid term objective is to capture a 12% share of the retail market by 2 010. At the same time the Gdańsk-based refinery sells roughly 20% of fuels s old in Poland, while the rate should increase to 30% within 5 years. The fir m is also planning to expand oil extraction abroad, but no specific market w as mentioned yet. (Parkiet, p. 3; Puls Biznesu, p. 1, 12) M.M.