Posted on 08/09/2006 10:43:15 AM PDT by lizol
Slovakia says to buy pipeline stake from YUKOS 2006-08-09 19:19
By Peter Laca
BRATISLAVA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The Slovak government reached a deal with bankrupt Russian oil firm YUKOS on Wednesday to buy back a 49 percent stake in Slovak oil pipeline operator Transpetrol.
Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek said after negotiations with officials of YUKOS Finance, which formally owns the Transpetrol shares, that the deal was still subject to approval by a U.S. judge overseeing part of YUKOS bankruptcy proceedings. "We need a ruling by a U.S. bankruptcy judge for finalising the matter, and for signing the necessary documentation," Jahnatek said, adding he expected the verdict within 10 days.
YUKOS officials were not available for comment after the meeting. The Slovak government holds the other 51 percent in Transpetrol, and has a right of veto on any transfer of YUKOS's shares until April 2007.
The minister declined to comment on the price of the stake, saying more negotiations were needed to reach a final agreement. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said earlier on Wednesday he saw the value of the stake between $100 million to $120 million.
Major Russian companies had competed against several regional peers including Poland's PERN, and Czech state-owned Cepro to take the stake, but Fico was keen to take it back from Yukos because of the pipeline operator's strategic importance.
YUKOS acquired the stake and management rights for $74 million in a 2002 privatisation deal for the pipeline operator, which serves Slovak refiner Slovnaft, a unit of Hungary's MOL.
Transpetrol ships almost 10 million tonnes of Russian crude oil a year through the Slovak section of the Druzhba pipeline, with most of the oil going to Slovnaft, a unit of Hungary's MOL.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said last month it hoped to acquire the Transpetrol stake for $105 million, after a similar offer from privately-held oil company Russneft failed earlier this year due to differences with the government. Some analysts have warned that selling to Gazprom, which is a Russian state monopoly, would mean Slovakia's energy dependence on Russia would increase significantly.
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