RIGA - Skonto Nafta said this week it was prepared to sell its stake in Latvijas Naftas Tranzits, the largest shareholder of the troubled Ventspils Nafta oil terminal on the Baltic Sea.
Guntis Indriksons, Skonto Nafta co-owner, said the company was working to sell its stake in LNT, with the sale possibly taking place this year. "We will sell [the shares] to the buyer who offers the highest price. We do not care whether it is a local or an international buyer," he said, adding that, most likely, the stake would be bought by an international company.
The decision represents the continuing slide in fortunes for LNT, whose shareholders have become increasingly frustrated with Ventspils Nafta's predicament. The asset is underperforming in a generally dynamic industry, and some LNT shareholders have questioned the viability of their holding.
Man-Tess, an oil handler that is also a co-owner of LNT, earlier this year tried to sell its 3.8 percent stake in LNT, but to no avail. As owner Julijs Krumins said at the time, any potential buyer wants either controlling ownership or the assurance that there will be dividend income. As he explained, neither are likely now at LNT given the tension among owners and the situation at Ventspils Nafta.
However, Krumins told the Baltic News Service that he has offered Skonto Nafta to sell their LNT stakes together. In his words, Skonto Nafta owns some 13 percent of LNT.
LNT was established in 1995, and its largest owner is Ventbunkers, which has a 51.95 percent stake. Other shareholders include Global Oil Services Limited, Skonto Nafta, Ventrans Riga, Man-Tess and Somers Business Limited.
Government officials have criticized the opaque nature of LNT, many of whose shareholders are registered offshore. Recently the government proposed teaming up with LNT to sell a controlling interest in Ventspils Nafta to a strategic investor 's one who would guarantee that oil supplies in Russia would start up again 's but LNT balked.
The government then decided to sell its shares to the public in separate blocks on the Riga Stock Exchange.
