New Market Study Published: Czech Republic Oil & Gas Report Q1 2014

With a moratorium on shale gas exploration, the Czech Republic will remain highly dependent on imported fuel, as conventional hydrocarbons potential is limited. Demand trends are not particularly strong, but refinery disruptions show that the domestic fuels market is in a precarious state of balance. This, in turn, has prompted the government to investigate ownership options for the national refining segment.

The main trends and developments we highlight for the Czech Republic's oil and gas sector are:

* Plans to freeze shale gas exploration for two years to allow the government to draft and implement new legislation have found plenty of support, meaning that drilling activity is unlikely until post-2014. In May 2013, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas reiterated that shale mining was not on the agenda and that the moratorium on shale gas exploration would be maintained, stressing that the adoption of relevant legislation would be a precondition of shale gas prospecting and mining. Several domestic and foreign companies had earlier applied for shale gas exploration permits, including the UK's Cuadrilla Resources and Basgas Energia Czech, a unit of Australia-based Basgas. Domestic upstream company MND had also applied for an exploration permit.
* Unipetrol insisted on January 23 2013 that it has no intention of selling control of the Czech Republic's major refiner Ceska Rafinerska. The statement came a day after Czech Industry Minister Martin Kuba said the government is preparing a plan to take over the company, confirming long-standing market speculation. The move is prompted by the government's desire to bolster energy security, Kuba told Reuters in an interview. To that end, an expert group has been formed to study the plan, which aims to combine the refiner with state-held crude and oil products pipeline operators Mero and Cepro.
* In November 2013, Shell announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its 16.3% stake in Ceska Rafinerska to Unipetrol. This will bring Unipetrol's shareholding interests to 67.5%, providing it with the qualified majority of votes in Ceska Rafinerska. The sale will be finalised in 2014.
* Unipetrol has now permanently stopped crude oil refining at its 20,000 barrel per day (b/d) Pardubice refinery. The decision was made due to the weak refining margins post 2008, the low conversion capacity and low complexity of the refinery which impacted its profitability, and a weak demand for diesel and refining overcapacity in Europe. As a result, national crude distillation capacity is now reduced to 163,000b/d.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/754508_czech_republic_oil_gas_report_q1_2014.aspx?afid=301

About Fast Market Research

Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.

For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.

You may also be interested in these related reports:

- Congo Oil & Gas Report Q1 2014
- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q1, 2013
- Insignia Energy Ltd. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q1, 2013
- Plains Exploration & Production Company Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q1, 2013
- Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q1, 2013