Eni has signed an agreement with MOL Group, the Hungarian oil & gas company, for the sale of its 32.445% stake in Česká Rafinérská, a refining company in the Czech Republic. The transfer is subject to the preemption right on the part of the other partner in CRC, Unipetrol, which will be able to purchase the share under the conditions agreed with MOL. Česka rafinerska owns the two most important oil refineries in the Czech Republic (Litvínov with a capacity of 5.1 Mt/year and Kralupy with a capacity of 3.3 Mt/year) and processed 3.6 Mt of crude oil in 2013. The company is a joint venture between Unipetrol (67.6% since the acquisition of Shell's 16.3% stake in November 2013) and Eni (32.5%), and was created in 1997. In April 2014, PKN Orlen (Poland) had started talks to take over Eni's stake and gain full ownership over the refinery.
Eni also signed further agreements for the sale of its subsidiaries Eni Česká Republika, Eni Slovensko and Eni Romania to MOL Group. These subsidiaries operate in the Refining & Marketing business, with activities in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania respectively. The sale includes Eni's retail network (Agip), representing 208 service stations: MOL’s position in the Czech Republic will be greatly strengthened by this acquisition, with 125 new service stations together with Slovnaft’s 24 and PAP Oil’s 125 stations, which will grant MOL Group a retail market share exceeding 10%. In Slovakia, MOL's total network size will reach 253 stations. Additionally, the newly acquired 41 service stations further improve Slovnaft´s average throughput and customer value proposition. In Romania, with 42 acquired service stations, MOL Romania will reach a network of 189 units. The completion of these agreements is subject to certain conditions, including prior approval by the competent antitrust authorities.
These agreements are a further step towards a reduction of the refining exposure and to a recovery of the profitability in the Refining & Marketing sector. With the transfer of the share in Česká Rafinérská, Eni decreases its refining capacity by 7% which adds to the 13% of reduction applied in 2013.