LukOil chairman confirms hefty investments

LukOil, the largest oil group in the Russian Federation confirmed plans to develop its businesses on the Romanian market, according to the group’s chairman Vagit Alekperov. Last week, Alekperov announced investments worth 60 million dollars to be aimed at retooling Petrotel Refinery and doubling the number of gas stations to 210.
Alekperov’s statements, made after a meeting of LukOil’s Board of Directors, put an end to speculations about the exact of amount of investments the group has scheduled for Romania.
Word about extensive investments of LukOil in Romania had spread in the past, but could not be linked to any official source.
LukOil Petrotel’s union leader Gheorghe Paraschivoiu has recently said the Russians will invest approximately $32 million in retooling the refinery next year, in the first stage. This amount was verified by other sources within LukOil Romania at that time.
Alekperov said LukOil would launch a retooling project for the refinery in the summer of 2003, set to amount to $60 million. The targets of the retooling programme include producing Euro 3 compliant fuels.
The Petrotel Refinery, which can process up to 3.5 million tonnes of petroleum a year, has been closed since April this year. When it resumes operations, approximately 1,500 employees will go back to work, as the union leader says.
The refinery’s turnover last year amounted to more than 475bn ROL ($16.4 million), a sharp decline since 2000, when it amounted to 1,039bn ROL ($47.8 million).
As regards the distribution sector, the chairman of the Russian group said LukOil operated some 100 gas stations, with the development programme for the Romanian market targeting 210 gas stations.
Alekperov did not specify when the new gas stations should be ready for business, but said this expansion would also help the refinery in Ploiesti.
Information about the group’s plans for its network of gas stations in Romania so far has shown 300 stations scheduled until the end of next year. Investments in this plan were supposed to amount to approximately $150 million.