Croatian oil company INA wants to become the only owner of the Energopetrol company, where it currently owns 67 percent share and the letter confirming that intent was sent to the government of the Federation of Bosnia&Herzegovina (BiH)
An anonymous source from the entity government, holding 22 percent share in Energopetrol, confirmed they have received such a letter from INA, Tportal.hr reported on July 14, 2016.
The source mentioned the government hasn’t responded yet as they wish the sale of their share to be completely transparent, meaning they will offer their stock for sale on the market.
INA and the Hungarian MOL bought the current 67 percent share in Energopetrol at a public tender in 2006, offering 37.5 million Euro. Earlier this week INA has taken over 33.5% of Energopetrol stock, making it the majority owner of the company with the largest distribution network in BiH, with over a hundred petrol stations.
The BiH Federation government expect, before their answer, for INA to completely clarify the problem made by the decision of the INA-MOL consortium to open an arbitration procedure before the International Trade Chamber in Paris in 2013. The dispute was initiated by lawsuits of Energopetrol workers due to unpaid salaries and other debts created before the company was sold. The disputed amount is 32.7 million Euro, while INA-MOL considered these debts should be reimbursed by the former majority owner, BiH government. Allegedly, a deal was made in June according to which Ina and MOL would give up the arbitration, but that deal hasn’t been formalised.
