RPT-Unipetrol willing to up stake in Ceska Rafinerska

(Repeats story published late on Thursday)

BUDAPEST, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Czech refining and petrochemical group Unipetrol <UNPEsp.PR> is interested in raising its 51 percent stake in domestic refinery operator Ceska Rafinerska, a senior Unipetrol executive said on Thursday.

"There's no such announcement for the time being, but we are ready and interested to discuss it," Marek Mroczkowski, chief financial officer of Unipetrol, told Reuters on the sidelines of a refining conference in Budapest.

"We are willing to increase our stake, but it always depends on the counterparties."

Ceska Rafinerska runs refineries in Litvinov, Kralupy and Vltavou. Unipetrol, itself majority owned by Poland's PKN Orlen <PKNA.WA>, is the main Ceska Rafinerska shareholder at 51 percent.

CononoPhillips <COP.N>, Italy's ENI <ENI.MI> and Royal Dutch/Shell <RDSa.L> are the other shareholders, each owning 16.33 percent.

Mroczkowski said he could not elaborate on whether Unipetrol had spoken to the other Ceska Rafinerska partners about an increased stake.

"I can't say anything specific; it's not enough developed," he said.

Mroczkowski did not comment directly about recent market speculation that Russian oil company LUKOIL <LKOH.MM> was considering a buyout of ConocoPhillips' 16.33 percent stake in Ceska Rafinerska.

But he said there was "a privilege for existing shareholders that gives them priority" in buying stakes in Ceska Rafinerska.

On Wednesday, Mroczkowski told the conference that if a partner wished to sell its stake in Ceska Rafinerska there were "certain clauses which allow existing partners to be first in the queue."

"If it happens, we will be in the queue," he said. ((Reporting by Iain Pocock; Writing by Keyvan Hedvat; editing by James Jukwey; iain.pocock@reuters.com))

Keywords: ENERGY UNIPETROL CESKA