RIGA - Janis Adamsons, board chairman of the Ventspils Nafta oil terminal, and his
deputy Ritvars Priekalns filed resignation letters with the company last
week, said VN spokeswoman Gundega Varpa.
Adamsons, who is also the president of Ventspils Nafta, said he would quit
for personal reasons, while Priekalns, who serves as vice president, would
continue to hold a high ranking post at Ventspils Nafta Terminals company, a
VN subsidiary that will take over oil and oil products handling functions
from the main enterprise, according to Varpa.
"Changes on the board will in no way affect the company operations," Varpa
said.
VN council chairman Mamerts Vaivads said although Adamson's presidency of
the company coincided with the most complicated period in the enterprise's
history, in which Russian oil companies decided to halt pipeline oil exports
to Ventspils, the company nevertheless "not only secured stable operations
but even made a profit."
"VN's ability to react flexibly to changes in cargo structure was crucial,"
Vaivads said. "The decisions VN had to take in adapting its business for oil
and oil products and quickly arranging the flow of supplies by railway were
especially important."
Press reports had suggested last week that Adamsons and Priekalns were going
to resign their posts. Latvia's leading daily Diena reported the two were
ready to quit amid disagreements with Ventspils Mayor, Aivars Lembergs, but
Lembergs denied he had had disagreements with the two.
A similar situation occurred in June 2002 when VN's long-standing President
Igors Skoks and his deputy Olafs Berkis resigned. Similarly, disagreements
with Lembergs were unofficially cited as the reason for the double
resignation.
Although the Ventspils mayor is not directly linked to VN's management, a
number of key people related to the oil transit business and the
oil-reloading firm's privatization have cited him as its true owner.
Adamsons and Priekalns were approved as VN president and vice-president last
fall.
