Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis met Tuesday with his Kazakh counterpart Kasymzhomart Tokayev, as well as Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik and officials from Kazakh state-owned oil company KazMunaiGaz to discuss energy sector cooperation.
KazMunaiGaz is seeking to acquire a 53.7% stake in the oil complex, which includes the 12 million mt/yr (240,000 bbl/d) Mazeikiu Nafta refinery, an 8 mln mt terminal at Butinge, and a pipeline system connecting the two.
The stake is currently owned by Russian oil firm Yukos - also the refinery's operator - which is seeking to sell foreign assets to help pay its tax bills.
Poland's PKN Orlen is among the other energy companies to have expressed an interest in buying the stake, and said towards the end of last year that it was prepared to pay more than $1 billion. Final offers for the stake are to be submitted by the middle of this month, when the Lithuanian government will decide either to buy the stake itself and sell it on, or to allow Yukos to sell its interest directly.
Despite holding a majority stake, Yukos is not allowed to sell its interest without the approval of the Lithuanian government, which itself owns a 40.66% stake in the complex.
