Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said that in late September or early October industry investors from all over the world will be invited to take part in the bid to take over Poland's second-largest refiner, Lotos.

The decision comes as a result of talks with Economy Minister and Deputy PM Waldemar Pawlak. The government plans to gather offers from investors first and then change its strategy for the fuel sector.

The Treasury owns 53 percent of Lotos' shares. In order to sell some of them, the government will have to change the strategy for the fuel sector, which now stipulates that the state cannot own less than 50 percent of Lotos' shares. The final decision will be left up to Poland's Council of Ministers.

“We are opening up an international process of searching for a strategic industry investor for the Lotos Group,” said Mr Grad today. “But beginning it does not mean that it requires the Council of Ministers to take up the matter yet.”

The Treasury wants to sell Lotos only under specific conditions, such as leaving Lotos as an independent, listed company, with its headquarters in Gdańsk. It also wants the investor to continue the firm's 2008 development plan.

“We want the investor to fulfill this strategy and propose development investments,” said Mr Grad. “The international partner must show that they are a long-term investor and how they plan to give the company access to resources.”

The companies interested in the oil refiner include Statoil and ConocoPhillips. There was also talk about Lotos' only rival on the market, Orlen, taking over the company, but the Treasury has confirmed that this will not be made possible.

“We are ruling out PKN Orlen's participation in the Lotos privatization,” Mr Grad stressed.

Orlen's deputy President Sławomir Jędrzejczak said in late August that it would be nearly impossible for his company to take over Orlen. According to him, although such a consolidation would be beneficial for the Polish fuel market, Orlen is not interested in taking part in the privatization in the form proposed by the Treasury Ministry.