KIEV, Aug. 21 - Ukraine may look into re-privatization of Lisichansk Oil Refinery if its owner, Russian oil major Rosneft, continues to delay its restart, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytskiy said Wednesday.

The refinery was shut down in March 2012 and is currently expected to resume operation in March 2014.

“I don’t exclude the option that our government can check papers concerning privatization commitments,” Stavytskiy said at a press conference. “This is the extreme scenario that may happen, but we keep that in mind.”

This is the first time that a government official has mentioned the possibility of re-privatization of the oil refinery as a punishment for its staying idle.