With pipeline battle lost, Lukoil gets aggressive in the Ukraine...
Russian company, Lukoil hopes to increase its stake in Lukor, a joint venture with Ukraine's biggest chemical company, Oriana. The Ukrainian company plans to sell its 48 percent stake in the joint venture soon.
LUKoil owns 52 percent of Lukor through its LUKoil-Neftekhim subsidiary; Oriana owns the rest. It is unknown how much the remaining 48 percent will be sold for.
"It's literally a necessity for LUKoil to increase its stake, as they want to boost investments and expand production," said Anatoliy Hetmanchuk, the head of information at Lukor.
LUKoil wants to use Lukor to expand its petrochemical business throughout Central Europe. It has already invested about $50 million in technical upgrades in the venture since it was set up in late 2000. It plans to invest another $100 million to $130 million during the next three years, Hetmanchuk said.
LUKoil head Vagit Alekperov met Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma for talks over the sale in Kiev earlier this week.
