YUKOS Opens Window to Europe

Shareholders of Mazeikiu Nafta, the only oil refinery in the Baltic states, have approved the sale of a 26.85 stake in the company to Russia's Yukos Oil Co. for $75 million. Yukos promised to lend Mazeikiu another $75 million to upgrade the plant. After the sale, the Lithuanian government will own 40.7 percent of Mazeikiu, and Williams Cos., a U.S. oil and gas company, will own a stake equal to the one held by Yukos. Currently, Williams owns 33 percent of Mazeikiu. This includes the refinery, an oil pipeline and the Butinge oil terminal. Williams bought the stake in 1999, defeating Russia's Lukoil. Mazeikiu had faced difficulties in getting Russian oil to refine and had experienced several halts due to lack of raw material. Yukos will ship up to 5 million tons of oil a year to refine at Mazeukiu and 4 million tons a year to be exported through Butinge. In the competition for a stake in the Lithuanian company, Yukos defeated Lukoil and Tyumen Oil.