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Minsk in talks with Russian oil giants about sale of Naftan refinery

The Belarusian government is in talks with Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil about the sale of a controlling stake in the Naftan oil refinery in Navapolatsk, the Interfax news agency said with reference to Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir Syamashka, as quoted by BelaPAN.

"I'm not hiding the fact that we are in talks with Rosneft and Lukoil, discussing their purchase of a strategic stake in Naftan," Mr. Syamashka was quoted as saying.

The government will agree to sell the oil refinery to a Russian investor only if the latter was ready to carry out its social programs, help the company find new markets and spend money on its modernization. "But we so far have failed to find such an investor and we have to bear the brunt of modernizing our oil processing enterprises ourselves," Mr. Syamashka said.

The deputy prime minister noted that the Belarusian oil refineries annually spent $150 million to $200 million on their modernization.

Mr. Syamashka said that he had recently held talks with "a large foreign company" that was ready to buy a majority stake in the Minsk-based MAZ truck and bus manufacturer.

Mr. Syamashka also announced that Belarus would agree to sign a new gas supply agreement with Russia only if it provided for "the principle of equal profitability."

"We need not a low gas price but a gas price that would be close to the price charged from Russian consumers so that Belarus' enterprises have equal business conditions [with Russia's]," he said.

The deputy prime minister noted that a Belarusian-Russian gas supply deal currently in force would not secure "equally profitable prices" by January 1, 2011 as originally declared.