Ukraine to sell 67.4 % in LINOS refinery

The Ukrainian State Property Fund announced last week that it would try to sell a majority stake in the Lysychansk oil refinery (known as LINOS) by the end of the year.
Kyiv will offer a 67.4 % interest in LINOS to investors between February 1 and December 31 of this year, a spokeswoman for the fund said.
She noted that the State Property Fund had to revise its privatization schedule to make arrangements for the sale. Originally, the schedule had called for the sale of a 17.4% interest in LINOS some time in the first quarter of 2000. The spokeswoman did not say whether any of the conditions of sale -- e.g., starting price, investment or oil supply commitments -- had been had been determined yet.

According to the fund's data, the Lysychansk refinery's authorized fund currently amounts to about 9.9 mm hryvnyas, equivalent to $ 1.8 mm. Industry observers believe that Russia's Tyumenneft (TNK), which reportedly signed a preliminary supply deal with LINOS, is likely to win the majority stake in the refinery.
The Ukrainian oil-processing plant is capable of handling 16 mm tons of crude per year but refined only 530,000 metric tons in 1999. The plant is currently idle, as it does not have the cash needed to buy raw materials.