Within the first six months of 2004 the Ventspils Nafta Termināls, Ltd.

-  a daughter company of the Ventspils Nafta, JSC - handled 5.2 million

tonnes  of  crude oil and petroleum products that were delivered to the

terminal by rail road. The total volume of throughput is made up of 2.2

million  tonnes of gas oil, 1.6 million tonnes of crude oil, as well as

1.4 million tonnes of gasoline of various grades.

Decreased  railroad  deliveries  of  gasoil  from  Russia and other CIS

countries   have   affected  the  activities  of  the  Ventspils  Nafta

Termināls,  Ltd.  in the first half of the year as gasoil is considered

to  be  the  main  product  of  the transhipment volumes handled by the

Ventspils Nafta Termināls, Ltd.

It  is  directly  connected  with  the high prices for crude oil on the

world  market  as  the export of crude has simultaneously decreased the

export  of  refined  products  such  as gasoil. For example, within the

first  five  months  of  2004  gasoil  deliveries  from  Russia and CIS

countries  by  rail  and  water ways decreased by 1.1 million tonnes if

compared with the same period of 2003.

The  current  Russian  tariff  policy  on rail deliveries significantly

hinders  the  way  of  the  Ventspils  Nafta  Termināls to a successful

competition  and  as  a result the costs for rail transportation to the

Baltic  ports  have  increased  by  three to five times compared to the

costs for transportation by rail to the ports in Russia.

In  June  2004  the Ventspils Nafta Termināls, Ltd. handled 0.6 million

tonnes  of  crude  oil  and  petroleum products, among them 0.2 million

tonnes  of  gasoil,  0.2  million  tonnes  of  crude oil as well as 0.2

million tonnes of motor gasoline.



For further information please contact Gundega Vārpa, tel. 7229792