CeR's shift to reprocessing refinery may not be smooth --press.

(From Czech News Agency)

PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Ceska rafinerska may not shift to the regime of a reprocessing refinery as smoothly as was expected since CeR majority owner Unipetrol is beginning to pull back, and is asking for concessions from foreign shareholders for making the change, writes the weekly Euro due out on Monday.

At the end of January, when the new regime should be launched, the stalemate situation from this summer can easily be repeated, Euro writes. Unipetrol will not have signed contracts with other shareholders on material supplies for Chemopetrol and Ceska rafinerska will block the supplies, the weekly adds.

CeR shareholders decided to change the refinery's structure after they since the start of the year could not agree on the transmission prices between CeR and Unipetrol's 100-pct subsidiary Chemopetrol. In Sept this year, they pledged to agree by December on the terms of the transformation of the company from a joint-stock company to a technological unit. Thus, it will be be up to the shareholders to purchase material and sell the output.

At the extraordinary general meeting planned for Dec 13, the relevant contracts are to be signed. "Still last week it was not clear what the contracts would look like," Euro writes.

Nevertheless, both parties claim the process is on the right track. Foreign shareholders from the IOC consortium, ...