Lithuanian officials said Russian oil group Yukos has told the government it has received four firm bids to take over its controlling stake in the country’s Mazeikiu Nafta refinery.

Yukos wants to sell its 53.7 per cent stake in Mazeikiu Nafta, the Baltic region’s only refinery, which is at the centre of a scramble by international energy firms to snap it up and estimated to be worth $1 billion by a Yukos source.
Its stake in Mazeikiu, held by a Netherlands-based Yukos unit, has been frozen by a Dutch court along with other international assets while it considers financial claims by a number of applicants.
Lithuanian negotiators, led by Economy Minister Kestutis Dauksys, held talks with Yukos executives – even with the Dutch court decision pending. “Offers have been received from four companies,” Dauksys’ spokeswoman Orijana Jakimauskiene said. She said the minister would not name bidders.
But Baltic news agency BNS quoted the economy minister as having identified the bidders as BP’s Russian unit TNK-BP, LUKoil and US group ConocoPhillips in a joint bid, Polish refining group PKN Orlen and Kazakhstan’s KazmunaiGaz.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus appeared to come out in favour of TNK-BP, which has been named the preferred bidder by the government.