Estonian port company: Talks to build oil refinery in Paldiski have come to a halt
Negotiations between the Port of Tallinn and investors considering building an oil refinery at Paldiski's South Port have ground to a halt, spokespeople for the state-owned port operator said.
"While nobody has said no, no further steps have been taken beyond showing one's interest; there are no concrete negotiations," spokesperson Sirle Arro told BNS on Tuesday. "We expect them to demonstrate their interest."
As recently as in February of this year the Port of Tallinn was holding talks with several investors over building a refinery capable of processing 3-6 million tons of crude oil annually at the Paldiski South Port.
"Although the margins to be earned in refining are small at the present due to low oil prices and the market is not favorable, in the longer term, quite a few investors have taken an interest in building the refinery," Erik Ringmaa, chief commercial officer of the Port of Tallinn, told BNS at the time.
Ringmaa left the port company in April.
According to Arro, it cannot be said that the stalling of the negotiations is linked with Ringmaa's leaving. "It is a more general interest of the Port of Tallinn [for the project to succeed]," she said.
The Port of Tallinn has worked on plans for the Paldiski refinery since 2011 already. According to Ringmaa in February, Ukrainian firm DMSS initially showed interest in the project, but negotiations were suspended and the firm has since been out of the game as a prospective investor.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS