Naftoport to remain state-owned with PERN involvement

A government report, "Strategy for the oil industry in Poland", states that Naftoport, a company responsible for transshipping oil and liquid fuels, is of strategic importance to the country and as such will remain under state control. This can be achieved by increasing the influence of another state-owned concern - Oil Exploitation Company "Przyjazn" (PERN) - over Naftoport. "There must not be a situation in which PERN, which conducts strategic operations of shipping oil and fuels, would have to be dependent on a private owner of Naftoport," said PERN president Stanislaw Jakubowski. Moreover, Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek recently stated that the privatization of the Gdansk Refinery (RG) depends heavily on the resolution of this issue. PERN owns only 14 shares in Naftoport, while oil giant PKN Orlen owns 38, RG 20 and J&S Energy and Northern Port, 3 each. Each share is valued at zl. 3 million, making Naftoport worth zl. 234 million. "It is possible to revoke 22 shares previously owned by PERN, which have been annulled. The company also hopes to regain 4 shares owned by PKN Orlen over which the companies are in conflict," said an analyst. Other possible solutions include increasing Naftoport's share capital, which would be taken over by PERN, or making other shareholders sell their stakes. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 3) M.M.