* Shell stake would help plan for sector integration
* Minister sees need for more state control to ensure supply
* Sector has been squeezed by low margins, smaller refinerclosed
PRAGUE, April 16 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch/Shell hasoffered to sell its minority stake in a Czech oil refining firmto the state, a minister said on Tuesday, which could help aproposal for the government to gain more control over anintegrated fuel sector.
Industry and Trade Minister Martin Kuba wants to pushthrough a wider consolidation as part of a plan to increase thestate's influence over loss-making oil refining and distributingbusinesses in order to prevent reduction or closure of refiningcapacity and ensure security of supply.
Shell has offered its 16.33 percent stake in CeskaRafinerska. The refining firm processes crude for itsshareholders - Poland's PKN via its Czech unitUnipetrol, Italy's ENI with 32.44 percentand Shell. The two other shareholders hold rights of firstrefusal.
"The offer has been made, there have been some negotiationsabout that," Kuba told reporters on the sidelines of aconference, confirming an earlier media report.
Kuba has been pushing for a merger of state-owned crudepipeline operator Mero, which brings oil from Russia and theMediterranean to Czech refineries, and Cepro, the owner of apipeline and storage network for gasoline and diesel.
The Shell stake would be worth buying only under the widersector consolidation plan, he said. It would give the governmentcontrol of a vertically integrated operation from imports ofcrude supplies to refining to distribution.
The Czech oil refining sector, like many refiners acrossEurope, has been squeezed by low margins. Unipetrol took a 4.5billion crown ($228 million) charge in 2012 related mainly toits 51 percent stake in Rafinerska and also shut down refiningat its smaller Paramo plant last year.
Kuba said his plan might be submitted to economic ministersfor consideration within about a month. He said he expected theFinance Ministry to have objections to the plan.
Shell stuck to a previous refusal to comment on the issue.
Ceska Rafinerska runs the 110,000 barrel per day Litvinovand the 55,000 bpd Kralupy refineries, which satisfy Czechdomestic demand.
Shell has long been mentioned by sector players as apossible candidate to sell its stake.
Last year, Shell sold the state-owned Mero a 5 percent stakein the TAL pipeline, which brings oil from the Mediterraneanport of Trieste to Germany. This helps the Czechs to accesscapacity in the link and bring in oil to the Czech pipelinenetwork.
