Orlen fails to win over MOL to bid for Petrom

Oil giant PKN Orlen sent a letter of intent to Rumanian officials confirming its willingness to participate in the privatization of oil concern Petrom. "The offer is not bound to any financial terms. Therefore, we are not talking about money or shares," said Orlen's spokesman Krzysztof Mikołajczyk. According to analysts, the value of Petrom is estimated at $1.6 billion. The Rumanian government controls 93% of its capital, out of which it plans to sell 33.34%. PKN Orlen has prepared the letter independently, although earlier the company hoped to form a consortium with Hungary's MOL. "This does not mean we want to execute the project by ourselves," added Mikołajczyk. Moreover, PKN has already prepared a plan to create a strong Central European oil concern, which will be presented to the board on September, 25. "If accepted, we will then present it to the government," said the president of Orlen, Zbigniew Wróbel, adding that potential partners in this projects are Hungarian MOL, Austrian OMV and Greek Hellenic Petroleum. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) A.K.