Minister hints RG might be allowed to go it alone

The State Treasury is considering floating the shares in Gdansk Refinery (RG). This might become a reality if the government accepts the new development plan for the concern, entailing a merger with Petrolbaltik, small refineries located in the far South of Poland and a mining company that will be spun off from Polish Oil and Gas (PGNiG). "The IPO is possible if we decide to create a second, competitive oil company to PKN Orlen," Deputy Treasury Minister Malgorzata Ostrowska told journalists in Parliament. She announced that the government will analyze the various proposals over the next two weeks. The Cabinet is also considering a possible marriage of RG with PKN, if the latter decides to not to invest in Naftoport. The problem here is that such a move could start alarm bells ringing in the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection, which has the power to block any merger on anti-trust grounds. Despite the fact that the consortium of British Rotch and Russian giant Lukoil still has exclusive negotiating rights until October 17, it appears increasingly unlikely that the government will allow the Russian company to take control of RG. (Prawo i Gospodarka, pp. 1, 4; Parkiet, p. 4; Reuters) M.M.