Amid all the discussions about how to buy back MOL’s share in INA, the company is quietly working on closing the refinery in Sisak.
INA is a perennial topic in Croatian economy and politics. While the government is trying to find a way how to buy back almost 50 percent of the company which is currently owned by Hungarian MOL, INA’s management, over which MOL has almost total control, is quietly looking into what to do with the current location of the refinery in Sisak. Obviously, although the final decision has not yet been announced, the refinery does not have a bright future, reports Jutarnji List on January 21, 2017.
Reacting to the news that INA has selected Deloitte to analyze strategic options for sustainable business operation at the Sisak location, the Committee for Defence of Refinery, which is an informal association of workers of the refinery who want to prevent its closure, reacted with surprise, since such a decision, which was supported by both board of directors and the supervisory board, opens a series of questions.
“We will see what lies behind such a decision, since INA has excellent experts who are more familiar with the technology and business operations, and such an analysis could have been prepared a long time ago. The question is how much a paid analysis can be objective”, said a spokesman for the Committee Predrag Sekulić.
In addition, based on past experience, we doubt the success of the announced dialogue between social partners and consultation with unions. It is known that the opinion of trade unions, as partners, has so far been largely ignored, said Sekulić. Union representatives say that they do not have enough information to give a more detailed comment on the decision on the selection of Deloitte.
INA explained that “the selection of external consultants was initiated in order to ensure an objective and professional support during the evaluation of strategic options as alternatives to processing of oil at the Sisak location”.
At the same time, members of the Committee for Defence of Refinery remain on alert to prevent the announced removal of oil from Sisak to INA’s refinery in Rijeka. Despite earlier rumours, the order for the oil to be shipped to Rijeka, which would be the first sign that the refinery is indeed closing down, has still not been issued.
