Russia suspends purchase of oil refinery

Russia suspends purchase of oil refinery

Lukoil_2 Lukoil, Russia's largest oil company, has shelved plans to buy
a refinery in Cuba because its exploration projects in Venezuela have
run into delays, Lukoil's president said Thursday. "Unfortunately, the
signing of Venezuelan projects has dragged on. The laws being approved
today by the country are a burden to its economy," Vagit Alekperov told
the Russian newspaper Kommersant. Lukoil cannot be sure the projects
will crystallize "as a source of supply for the Cuban refinery. And to
buy a refinery in Cuba without having crude-supply logistics makes no
sense," he said. The refinery at Cienfuegos (a Cuban-Venezuelan
enterprise) has not yet been reactivated. According to Alekperov, the
Caribbean "has unique reserves of oil and gas, in which Lukoil must be
present. Alek2 We are interested in producing and refining oil in the
region because we are present in the U.S. retail market [...] where we
sell 8 billion tons of oil products per year. The project has prospects
to develop." In this country, Lukoil gasoline is dispensed at 2,000 fuel
stations in 13 states.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

June 27, 2008

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