Vilnius  - The Lithuanian government is to sell off its remaining 10 per cent stake in the only oil refinery operating in the Baltic states, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said Tuesday.

The buyer is Polish energy giant PKN Orlen, which already owns the other 90 per cent of the Mazeikiu Nafta facility in northern Lithuania, which is one of the biggest commercial enterprises in the Baltics.

"The government is ready to execute its contractual obligation to PKN Orlen on the purchase of a 10 per cent stake in the near future ... I believe that such a sale will take place early in March," Kubilius said in an interview with Radio Lithuania.

Kubilius stressed that the state would be getting a considerably better price than the current marketplace would be likely to provide, thanks to the terms of the contract between the government and PKN Orlen.

"Stock prices have plummeted all across the world, and it is clear that we will ensure a great benefit for Lithuania by selling the shares at the price agreed in 2006, instead of what it is now," Kubilius said.

A Mazeikiu Nafta spokesperson refused to comment when contacted by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The sale is expected to generate around 284 million dollars for the state at a time when Kubilius' government is implementing wide- ranging spending cuts and trying to increase efficiency in the public sector.

On Monday, Kubilius confirmed a 1.5-billion-dollar economic stimulus package aimed at turning around the flagging Lithuanian economy.

Some analysts expect Lithuania to follow neighbouring Latvia and turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for further assistance, a move which Kubilius has refused to rule out. (dpa)