„We understand that we need at least a couple of refineries in Europe. We are considering a specific proposal (from Conoco), to buy and modernize (the plant),” OAO Lukoil‘s first vice-president Vladimir Nekrasov told reporters. He decline to disclose more details. ConocoPhillips has six refineries in Europe. Last year, it bought one of the biggest of its European plants, Wilhelmshaven refinery in Germany, from Louis Dreyfus, which is its only fully-owned plant in Germany. Market sources have said Lukoil was also studying buying the 275,000 barrels per day plant. Lukoil, which has four refineries in Russia, and three in Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania, has repeatedly failed to expand its downstream presence in Europe, where it wants to buy at least 200,000 barrels per day of new refining capacity. In recent years it has failed to win control of Lithuania’s Mazeikiu Nafta plant, as well as refineries in Poland and Kuwait’s refinery in Rotterdam. Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said on Monday Lukoil was in talks with Conoco to help it upgrade a refinery in Germany. Conoco CEO Jim Mulva has said his firm was unlikely to approve a major conversion project at Wilhelmshaven in 2007 as rising maintenance costs have forced it to delay that work to at least 2008. Nekrasov also said Lukoil would expand its network of petrol stations in Turkey to 50-100 from 12 now and would buy a second product storage facility in the Antalya province on the Mediterranean. (reuters.com)
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