VILNIUS, October 18 (RIA Novosti, Vladimir Vodo) - Lithuania intends to hold negotiations with Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP on the sale of the controlling stake in oil major Mazeikiu nafta, the Lithuanian government said Tuesday.
On October 20, the Lithuanian parliament will adopt a bill to allow the government to receive a loan worth 3 billion litas ($1.05 billion) to buy out Yukos' 53.7% stake in Mazeikiu nafta in order to resell it together with half of the 40.66% state-held stake to an investor selected by the government.
Earlier, the Lithuanian prime minister said LUKoil and TNK-BP, which had each expressed interest in paying $1 billion for the Yukos stake, had the highest chances.