Lukoil president and Miller discuss Gdansk Refinery

Speculation over the results of a tender for the purchase of a 75% stake in the Gdansk Refinery (Rafineria Gdanska - RG) has been raging for over a month now and yesterday's meeting between Lukoil president Vagit Alekperow and Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller brought no final conclusions. After the meeting, Alekperow said he hoped the decision would be objective and the transaction successful both for his company and for Rotch Energy. The current tender, lasting for over eighteen months so far, is the second attempt to sell the refinery. Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek claims that the current offer is "entirely satisfactory" as well as "much better" than the one from 1998 when the investor selected for exclusive negotiations offered $70 million for the stake. Zbigniew Wrobel, the president of PKN Orlen, which is also bidding for the RG stake, announced yesterday that, "the merger of Orlen and RG presents an opportunity for the creation of a strong national concern which will be a key company in central and eastern Europe." According to unofficial information, a new governmental program sees PKN Orlen as a leading company which may help consolidate the fuel companies of central Europe. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) A.Z.