LUKoil Sheds Russian Assets

LUKoil is pursuing a plan of buying assets abroad while getting rid of Russian assts, according to reports. The company is currently interested in upstream facilities in Libya and Venezuela, refining facilities in North America and in Europe, and in sales chains in Hungary, Turkey and Montenegro. These plans were announced by the head of the company's strategic planning department, Sergei Rogov.

According to Rogov, the company is also going to conduct foreign expansion in the downstream area. For instance, LUKoil is interested in oil refining facilities in the US or in Canada, Poland, Belarus, Sweden and Holland. LUKoil is also considering a possibility to buy sales chain in Hungary, Turkey and in Montenegro.

On the contrary, the company's Russian plans include the sale of assets with low profitability. In the near future the company plans to sell about a hundred gas stations. "These are small stations and their sales volumes do not exceed 1 ton per day," explained Rogov. LUKoil will offer downstream assets for sale too. In the second half of 2004 LUKoil plans to sell several small companies with production less than 5,000 tons a month in the Komi Republic, Perm Region and Volga region. He adds that closed tenders may be organized for the sale of these assets.