CAPITAL: Prague
MONETARY UNIT: Koruna
REFINING CAPACITY: 186,055 b/cd
OIL PRODUCTION: 8,000 b/d
OIL RESERVES: 15 million bbl
GAS RESERVES: 140 bcf
A conference of Czech cabinet, business, and labor leaders agreed in November 1999 on a government plan to complete the deregulation of household energy prices by the end of 2002.
Under the plan, retail electricity prices were to rise 15% and natural gas prices 11% in 2000.
In 2001, electricity would rise a further 14% and gas 7%. The following year, the rates would jump 13% and 6% respectively.
The Czech central bank had been urging the government to bring energy prices up to the levels charged industry.
Privatization moved forward in 1999 as the National Property Fund, an agency administering government assets, approved a list of 12 companies whose government ownership could be sold faster than earlier planned.
The list included refiner Paramo, utility Prazska Energetika AS, gas distributor Prazska Plynarenska, and oil company Unipetrol AS.
Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik said the National Property Fund wanted the government to sell stakes in another 700 companies in which it held less than 10%.
OAO Lukoil, Russia`s largest oil producer, said it was interested in buying the government`s majority stake in Paramo.
Lukoil wanted to pay $20.1 million for a 70% interest. Lukoil supplied about 70% of oil processed in Czech refineries.
The government planned to offer Paramo through open bidding.
Early in 1999, the Czech government dismissed the directors and supervisory board of Unipetrol AS in an effort to increase its control.
Unipetrol, 63% state-owned, was formed in 1997 by merging Chemopetrol AS and Kaucuk AS, the nation`s biggest petrochemical companies. Unipetrol also owned a 51% stake in Ceska Rafinerska, the largest Czech oil refinery.
An unnamed West European oil company reportedly was interested in 25% of Unipetrol.
Also in 1999, Medusa Oil & Gas, a unit of Ramco Energy PLc, and partner Moravsk Naflov Doly AS, the former Czech state oil firm, began producing the Krumvir-2 well on the Karlin block.
The well, about 30 km southeast of Brno and 100 km northeast of Vienna, was flowing 2 MMcfd of gas and 150 b/d of oil.
Medusa had 48% and Moravsk 52%. They planned more drilling.
